this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2025
1081 points (91.3% liked)

Technology

71313 readers
3455 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.


Our Rules


  1. Follow the lemmy.world rules.
  2. Only tech related news or articles.
  3. Be excellent to each other!
  4. Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
  5. Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
  6. Politics threads may be removed.
  7. No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
  8. Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
  9. Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
  10. Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

we should probably invest in making sure people have affordable housing, food, and healthcare before worrying about militarising space.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

Don't buy into the grifts. Dismantle them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goh2x_G0ct4

[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Starlink should be globalized. A planet only needs one low-altitude orbiting communications network. Better to standardize the technology and platform and let them contribute to one system than to have a dozen identical competing systems crashing into each other and fucking things up for everyone.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 297 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Yeah I mean the tax payers have literally already paid for all of both SpaceX and Starlink. The public paid for it, the public should own it.

[–] [email protected] 97 points 6 days ago (3 children)

They're just following in the footsteps of Comcast. The FCC gave SpaceX/Starlink $885.5 million to provide rural broadband after they gave Comcast over $1 billion less than 5 years ago to do the same thing. Starlink actually works out there from what I understand, so I guess that's something.

[–] [email protected] 111 points 6 days ago (27 children)

The main problem is that starlink is not a viable ISP like Comcast. Relying on low earth orbit is extremely wasteful as you need to constantly launch more and more satellites. Starlink gives their satellites a 5 year lifespan where fiber can go on for 40 years or more. There are 7,500 starlink satellites, so we're talking a constant replacement of satellites all falling into earth's atmosphere, not being recycled.

Starlink is literal space trash waiting to happen.

[–] [email protected] 66 points 6 days ago (8 children)

I didn't realize how temporary and disposable Starlink's satellites were. They incinerate 4 or 5 a day by de-orbiting them into the ozone. Here's a pretty good CNET article that talks about how they “dispose” of them. IDK, doesn't seem sustainable. They also mention the bandwidth gains are being diminished with the influx of new users, so their solution is more temporary satellites.

load more comments (8 replies)
load more comments (26 replies)
load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 142 points 6 days ago (13 children)

You could always just fund the space agency you already have, instead of funneling money to a foreign billionaire.

[–] [email protected] 68 points 6 days ago (59 children)

No this the one time I’m with the commies. Nationalize that shit. Like you said it’s all taxpayer money anyway. A little bit of Wall Street speculation, but who gives a fuck about those people

load more comments (59 replies)
load more comments (12 replies)
[–] [email protected] 102 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Has anyone considered funding NASA?

They made rockets that didn't explode with duct tape and a TI-83 calculator.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Shouldn't be incompatible with nationalizing SpaceX and Starlink. Just give it all to NASA, actually.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 days ago

I disagree.

  1. You already have a government space agency. Maybe give them more funding so they don't have to rely on space-x to get their stuff into orbit?

  2. There's a national telecom network already in place. It at least has the potential to be faster and more reliable, if it isn't already... At least compared to low earth orbit satellite coverage.

There's no good reason to continue providing Elon or his companies with any government handouts. Pull that funding and give it to.... I dunno, students who have more debt than homeowners with a mortgage..... NASA.... Literally anything that helps people?

[–] [email protected] 76 points 5 days ago (9 children)

We should just fund NASA and let SpaceX and Starlink go bankrupt to competitors.

load more comments (9 replies)
[–] [email protected] 47 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 days ago (3 children)

Nasa with less risk aversion. If a Nasa rocket blows up that's big news. If a Space X rocket blows up, that's a Tuesday.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 days ago (5 children)

You have NASA FFS. Just fund it.

load more comments (5 replies)
[–] [email protected] 31 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Don't give bail-outs to billionaires.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] the_crotch 75 points 6 days ago (9 children)

Yeah, let's give the trump administration the power to seize companies it doesn't like, that is a great idea that def won't be abused all the time

[–] [email protected] 28 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

The author probably forgot who runs the nation of usa.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Congress has always had this power. I'm personally for nationalizing telecomm companies.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)
[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 days ago

No, we should regain control of our nation from fascists (this does not mean just replace the President), then nationalize SpaceX and Starlink, and make telecoms public utilities.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Arrest Musk on violation of controlled substances acts, file immigration violation charges, invalidate his ownership shares due to securities fraud, as he falsified education and naturalization forms.

Or just emminent domain the shit. The Law is just made up right now.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 98 points 6 days ago (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 43 points 6 days ago (7 children)

I don’t think the majority of Americans understand what that means. They’ll just scream “commies!” And raise their maga flag.

But the idea of a starlink-like business owned by UN would be nice, and not an American corporation owned by a nepobaby Elmo.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 6 days ago (3 children)

In the USA space-x gets away with a lot. A few years ago they announced they were no longer going to bother with getting all the FAA approvals needed for their rockets because it took too long. Space-x still got government contracts.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 5 days ago

If your want proof that the wealthy live by a different set of laws, look no further than the time Elon Musk, ceo of SpaceX, went on a podcast and smoked weed.

SpaceX has DOD contracts for launches, and somehow him blatantly violating federal law had no impact on the contracts his company fulfilled for the government.

Do I think weed should be classified like it is? No.

Do I think that everyone should be held to the same standard? Yes. And if anyone else had been involved in government projects while going on podcasts and smoking weed, they’d at the very least be fired.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments (6 replies)
[–] QuoVadisHomines 24 points 5 days ago (3 children)

If not Musk should be forced from his roles in these companies. You cannot be a defense contractor and do ketamine.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 49 points 6 days ago (8 children)

Lets reach a compromise. Impeach Trump (successfully) and then take away SpaceX from Elon. That way things would be fair.

load more comments (8 replies)
[–] [email protected] 57 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (4 children)

See what we should do......is look to the french for inspiration on guillotine designs. Why would anyone not want to get rid of this asshole? Why would anyone like him?

[–] [email protected] 38 points 6 days ago (8 children)

Has US nationalized anything this millenia? I really don't see that ever happening

[–] [email protected] 36 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Tax burdens for billionaires

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (7 replies)
[–] [email protected] 22 points 5 days ago (3 children)

I've been saying this for years. the footprint that spaceX represents in national launch authority is out of whack to say the least.

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago (1 children)

I am not saying that I don't agree with you. But this country is still not even close to considering nationalizing its own telecommunication infrastructure. Much less a privately held space company and a service of communication satellites. A large chunk of America believes that a for-profit business model for every good and service possible in life is the best course of action.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (1 children)

A lot of people are calling this a bailout for Elon, but in reality it would be a seizure. Elon doesn't want to let go of Starlink and the US likely wouldn't pay him what it's worth to take it over.

What people seem to be missing is the precedent this would set. It's all well and good when we empower the office of the president to seize a private company we don't like, but after we give them that power what's to stop them from seizing other businesses?

XYZ company refuses to get rid of their DEI policy because the shareholders voted to keep it? Well now the orange man can seize it.

Let's not forget that previously it took 2/3rd majority to confirm presidential appointments, but the Senate under Obama decided to change that rule to 50% to get past Republican objections. The result of this is all these shit appointments Trump has passed with 51% of the Senate, none of them would have gotten by if the Democrats hadn't made a precedent for changing the rules.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›