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A 3-tonne, $1.5 billion satellite to watch Earth’s every move is set to launch this week (theconversation.com)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[-] [email protected] 79 points 1 month ago

Speaking as a layman, I just think it's fuckin' awesome how a big chonky boi can be propelled upwards at Mach Yeet and get casually dropped off in orbit.

Even though Musk is a cunt, I still love watching SpaceX streams to see big bits of metal get put upwards by lots of fire and noise, and then fuckin' land where they started seven or eight minutes later.

Science is fuckin mint, man.

[-] [email protected] 47 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Don't quote me on this, but I've heard SpaceX itself is pretty good at keeping Musk away from the actually important things. Something about having a team dedicated to keeping him distracted.

[-] [email protected] 25 points 1 month ago

Yeah it's a shame that Musk is so inextricably linked with the brand. I'm quite sure SpaceX and Tesla are full of top tier talent and engineering wizards... but have a direct link to a toxic cockwomble that bankrolls them. Shame.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

And yet whenever some achievement is made, the headlines are "Musk achieves great feat"

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

He likely brought a ton of capital with him.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Imagine getting a job at SpaceX thinking you're gonna build a moon base and you get put on 'Elon distraction' 😭

[-] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago

I like your funny words, magic man

[-] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

I'm surprised I strung so many together coherently to be honest!

[-] [email protected] 14 points 1 month ago

“Mach yeet” is now added to my list of sentences I never knew I wanted to read

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

As an engineer I would like to second this motion to get "Mach Yeet" adopted as an IEC standard technical term.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

If I could have crowbarred "moist" in there somewhere too, I'd have set the lexical tiktok on fire.

...if there is even one, don't come at me TNETENNBA fans!

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Have you had a chance to play Kerbal Space Program yet? If not, I think you'd really enjoy it.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

I haven't, no - and you're probably right, yes.

I worry that if I start playing KSP then my other half and kids won't see me again for six months because it does sound fucking awesome and highly rewarding.

Nope, I'm a simple man. I play through a couple of Doom WADs each summer in the academic off-season and that's my gaming appetite satiated.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

I made the mistake of thinking KSP was a game and not literal mother fucking rocket science.

There was a lot of explosions and no space.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Does not live up to the hype.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

4, 3, 2, 1... Reverse! We have reverse!... And we're turning... Putting it on D....hit the gas pedal... All systems nominal! The vehicle is gaining speed at 25mph. Entering the 5north at 45mph in climbing... 65! We have reached max Q...honey tell the kids what max Q means....kids, maxQ is when the vehicle sees maximum hydrodynamic pressure.

Trying to avoid MECO at all costs until we park.

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[-] [email protected] 21 points 1 month ago

changes on Earth’s surface down to the centimetre

These things really fuck with nude sunbathing.

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Some of us are blessed with

They need to launch a much more expensive satellite for that.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Hey, if they want to put themselves through looking at me in the nude, they can inflict that pain on themselves. I'd be more worried about them tracking everything else someone does day to day, and who could get their hands on that data.

[-] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago

Just what we needed, more surveillance /s

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[-] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago

Scary. In whose hands will this technological marvel be?

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

India

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

This is absolutely fucked. Bring down the all seeing eye in the sky satelite

[-] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

"All seeing" except it's using radar to evaluate typography and biomass. What am I missing that makes this "absolutely fucked"?

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Impressive that it has the resolution to identify fonts

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

This first iteration is only capable of identifying serif fonts, still impressive though.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I was so confused when I saw your comment until I reread my own. It really is top notch technology I guess!

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Aren't you a tiny blob of typography and biomass yourself?

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

How did you know? Really though I was looking at the picture in the article which is from similar technology about a decade ago.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

they've had spy sats since the 1960s

its not that bad

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

This is really cool.

Anyone know where can I publically find satellite data which is regularly updated, for hobby projects.

[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

I recall a Judas Priest song about this.

[-] [email protected] -3 points 1 month ago

Don't such satellites have a major flaw, that they revolve? Considering that earth is spherical, those satellites can only monitor some half of the earth each moment, given their sensors have such high FOV.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

How is that a flaw? It just sounds like a design consideration...

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Yes that's how one satellite can image a lot of area.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Do you expect the satellite to see the whole earth?

You know it's night for like half of it, yea?

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

What are you talking about? There's only one side. /s

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I'm not agreeing with their dumb point, but just pointing out: this satellite works on radar. I'm genuinely concerned how many people seem to be commenting without reading the article.

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

*yeah, not yea or nay. It isn't a vote.

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this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2025

241 points (96.9% liked)

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