SpaceX just got approved for 15,000 more direct-to-cell satellites: https://www.fcc.gov/document/spacex-approved-ngso-mss-system-direct-device-services
Giant, bright, radio-loud. Fuck. I just saw SO MANY SATELLITES in my sky. Guess there will be more. And then lots of debris.
But DON'T WORRY EVERYONE, the FCC will almost certainly approve SpaceX's one million satellite filing soon, so this will seem like nothing!
Oof. My dark sarcasm levels have shot through the roof and entered orbit. Time to sign off for the night.
@sundogplanets fuck this fucking fuck
What are these metals doing to our upper atmosphere after de-orbit? At one point, we'd have insisted on studying this extensively before launching tens of thousands of satellites that will eventually come back down ... now, when you're a trillionaire, they just let you do it.
@boelder The FCC officially decided that environmental regulations don't apply to them (after not following them anyway for decades) a few days ago https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-425491A1.pdf
It is the -actual- environment. Put it on the list of things we'll have to address in Jan 2027.
@sundogplanets You are go for TLI
Oct 9, 2026, 2:16 AM
@sundogplanets ...where you can take direct action against Starlink?!!
@sundogplanets I’d like to see other countries all sue the USA for polluting the skies we all share. Maybe that would give them pause on this “give the billionaires anything, everything their shrivelled little hearts desire.
Oct 9, 2026, 3:52 PM@sundogplanets
Careful - it'll get hit by a Starlink satellite.
Oct 9, 2026, 2:11 AM@sundogplanets Oh FFS
Oct 9, 2026, 2:25 AMI tried to start writing parody lyrics to Eminem's stanza in “Without Me” that starts 🎶 The FCC won't let me be … 🎶 but didn't get very far.
And I sure as 🤬 am not going to burn data center time spending LLM-gen-AI tokens on making the joke for me (it wouldn't be good anyway).
So, please insert here a stanza of your own making to the tune of that rap about FCC, Elon Musk, and Starlink.
Come to think of it, I suspect Elon & Eminem might share a worldview. 🤔
cc: @jrdepriest
@sundogplanets ugh 😭
Meanwhile, I am not aware of anyone I know personally who has ever used direct-to-cell satellite service.
Making even more mess of the sky for no reason at all...
(I have known people who used Starlink until they could find a better alternative.)
@sundogplanets Doesn't SpaceX already have more satellites in orbit than any other organization by a fair margin at this point?
@sundogplanets Jesus Christ this is worse than I thought. https://orbitalradar.com/satellites-by-operator
@foxxtrot And those numbers are pretty out of date! Jonathan McDowell's website https://planet4589.org/space/con/conlist.html shows over 11,000 Starlinks on orbit
@sundogplanets Why the fuck is the US approving that crap over our (EU or any other) sky and why is the EU eating it? Rhetorical, of course 🙄
@sundogplanets
What will the 3 wisemen follow to get to Bethlehem? GLONAS? Star Link? Or Star Link debris?
@sundogplanets
In case of loss of control w are already only 2 days away from a real risk of a Kessler syndrome - waaay into the yellow "Caution!" zone.
https://outerspaceinstitute.ca/crashclock/
@vampirdaddy You know I helped make this, right?
Yes -(thank you!),
but as you didn't (re)mention it, I thought the reference might be helpful for others. 🤓