Discussion
On first glance (pre-caffeine) it looks like there are a bunch of mansplainers doing math to defend Reflect Orbital in my mentions. FANTASTIC.
(Editing to add that reading more carefully, I think most of it is actually well-intentioned discussion trying to understand how the hell RO thinks they have any kind of business case. But I am extra grumpy because it's hot. No blocking needed.)
Good morning to everyone except the people defending or funding Reflect Orbital.
@sundogplanets apologies if my question came across the wrong way. I was merely trying to understand, not explain anything.
@sundogplanets How _does_ RO intend to make money?
I highly suspect this is a fine example of the underpants gnomes.
@sundogplanets
I'm going to laugh if Earth gets nuked by aliens after the blinding device is mistaken for a weapon.
Yes, I know this isn't an exceptionally intelligent thought or post. But it did make me chuckle a little at the idea.
@Cassandra_Complex I'd read that scifi book
@sundogplanets Morning! The orbital sunlight reflector concept is wild on paper, massive engineering and cost challenges, but the idea of on demand solar for high-latitude winters or disaster response has some theoretical appeal.
Skepticism about the business case and deployment risks is fair game though. Space tech hype often outruns the physics and economics. Curious to see if they can make the numbers work at scale.
@sundogplanets TBH it doesn't seem fantastic.
@sundogplanets I'm flabbergasted that this project made it beyond the sketching on a napkin stage. Putting aside the public safety concerns, (which we shouldn't) how is it possible that people who are smart enough to put a satellite into space cannot do the math and see this would never create more energy than it took to build and launch?
@sundogplanets If they're finding a way to defend Reflect Orbital, they must be REALLY bad at math.
I wonder whether the insurance question comes down to insurance for Reflect Orbital's customers, rather than RO itself.
If you are harmed by RO operations motivated by a customer (Momoney Nobrains, MNB), would MNB not have liability for visiting this well-recognized hazard upon you? Could you (all zillion of you) sue MNB in your own countries, states, etc.?
In the current wild-West legal environment , might this have enough weight to deter potential customers?
@sundogplanets I genuinely don't understand how anyone can think Reflect Orbital is a good idea. Ignoring the impacts to astronomy, and the orbital mechanics and space traffic (you definitely know more about those than me anyway), the fundamental problem with global warming is that earth is retaining too much energy. How is adding more energy to that situation a good idea?
@sundogplanets I am wondering: is space sabotage already a thing? If not, these reflectors really ask for it.
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