"Launching a constellation of a million satellites that operate as orbital data centers is a first step toward becoming a Kardashev II-level situation"
THIS IS IN AN FCC FILING NOT A SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK I'M DEAD
I feel like this is a good time for everyone to go read "More Everything Forever" by @adambecker.bsky.social@bsky.brid.gy because that completely unrealistic and awful techbro mentality/religion the only way to explain this FCC filing (and that book explains this very clearly!)
Time to go outside and listen to NZ birds as the sun comes up, because fuck SpaceX.
What the actual fuck. It's not April Fools Day, right? This is real?! Fuck you, SpaceX. Maybe this will help regulators realize how fucking shortsighted companies' plans in orbit are?
Surely the FCC won't rubber-stamp-approve this one??... ONE MILLION STARLINKS FUUUUCCCKKKKKK
https://au.pcmag.com/networking/115649/spacex-eyes-1-million-satellites-for-orbital-data-center-push
"Launching a constellation of a million satellites that operate as orbital data centers is a first step toward becoming a Kardashev II-level situation"
THIS IS IN AN FCC FILING NOT A SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK I'M DEAD
What the actual fuck. It's not April Fools Day, right? This is real?! Fuck you, SpaceX. Maybe this will help regulators realize how fucking shortsighted companies' plans in orbit are?
Surely the FCC won't rubber-stamp-approve this one??... ONE MILLION STARLINKS FUUUUCCCKKKKKK
https://au.pcmag.com/networking/115649/spacex-eyes-1-million-satellites-for-orbital-data-center-push
Hello Aotearoa New Zealand!! (I am so tired and need to stay awake longer) #ProfSamLectureTour
Time to accept that I am not going to finish (or even start) the majority of the things I was supposed to do this week... but I think I should get a little bit of leniency because I will cross the date line and actually lose Friday this week!
It's happening! Tomorrow I leave for Aotearoa New Zealand to visit a whole bunch of amateur astronomy clubs (to yell about satellite pollution) and then spend a few weeks with collaborators at University of Canterbury (to yell about satellite pollution, and hopefully also talk about the Kuiper Belt and interstellar objects!)
I am looking forward to new foods, visiting farms, having conversations with farmers and astronomers, and different stars (hello MAGELLENIC CLOUDS!!) #ProfSamLectureTour
My first week of talks includes WhangΔrei https://events.humanitix.com/astronomy-and-the-billionaire-space-race
Then Auckland https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/astronomy-vs-the-billionaire-space-race-tickets-1979945182339
Then Hamilton https://www.has.org.nz/bht-registration-2026
(Bonus: in Hamilton I've been invited to visit the "methane barn" where they study emissions from cows and I'm so here for this) #ProfSamLectureTour
It's happening! Tomorrow I leave for Aotearoa New Zealand to visit a whole bunch of amateur astronomy clubs (to yell about satellite pollution) and then spend a few weeks with collaborators at University of Canterbury (to yell about satellite pollution, and hopefully also talk about the Kuiper Belt and interstellar objects!)
I am looking forward to new foods, visiting farms, having conversations with farmers and astronomers, and different stars (hello MAGELLENIC CLOUDS!!) #ProfSamLectureTour
Interview requests today on the topic of satellite pollution from a journalist in China and one in Turkey. Interesting.
My house is 10km from the nearest town, and 1/2km from my nearest neighbour. But I am hooked to an electric line, I could be hooked to a wired phone line, I could hook up to a water line, and I could even hook up to a natural gas line (which is completely wild).
But no wired broadband internet! This is just not where governments are putting money, and many are happy to use Starlink to leapfrog that rural infrastructure development cost, at the cost of supporting an American billionaire company.
Anyway, fairly petty things to complain about, given everything else that's happening.
But pollution from satellite internet is my thing that I'm an expert on! So I will keep complaining about it and educating people about it. This is the fight that all my training has prepared me for, so I'm fighting it!
I assumed that Starlink has sucked up so much of their rural Sask business that they are having to shut off towers as more and more Canadians switch to using American billionaire-owned satellites. But no, they sent out a confusing form letter to everyone: they're actually just upgrading my tower and my receiver is too old. (Annoying because my farm-sitter will have to deal with this, but oh well)
So, I still have access to cell-tower ground-based internet, in rural Canada. For now!
My house is 10km from the nearest town, and 1/2km from my nearest neighbour. But I am hooked to an electric line, I could be hooked to a wired phone line, I could hook up to a water line, and I could even hook up to a natural gas line (which is completely wild).
But no wired broadband internet! This is just not where governments are putting money, and many are happy to use Starlink to leapfrog that rural infrastructure development cost, at the cost of supporting an American billionaire company.
Prof. Sam Lawler