This seems so science-fictiony that most people won't take it seriously. That would be a bad mistake.
Not only are we messing up the planet, we're also inadvertently shutting our door to space. When we're shut in, we're probably shut in for ever.
And when I say "we" are shutting that door, I mean mainly Musk.
https://robertvanwey.substack.com/p/the-imminence-of-the-destruction
@ireneista @dalias Navigation is a big one. Especially in dense forest, over open ocean, in bad weather, etc. GPS makes things much much better.
On the plus side, GPS birds live high enough up that they're unlikely to be affected by LEO clutter. The big concern is during launch and orbital insertion, when you're still down low. But it's unlikely we'd reach a truly apocalyptic Kessler situation where LEO is so full of debris you're guaranteed to be struck within minutes. Just "lifetimes are unacceptably short".
So you might need a slightly more energetic booster to lift it up to the working orbit quickly so it doesn't spend too long in Kessler-land, and might lose a few percent of your replacement GPS craft to impacts on the way up, but it wouldn't be a complete denial of higher orbits.
@dalias @ireneista There is legitimately interesting science that can be done by human-staffed bases, which is much more difficult to do with fully autonomous vehicles (in particular, the ability to service equipment to extend its lifespan).
I would really like to see a lunar setup similar to Antarctica - obviously unfit for large scale human habitation and dependent on supplies from earth, but a handful of scientists rotating in and out year round.
Self sufficiency is never going to happen, of course - that's a billionaire's pipe dream.
James Gleick
Cassandrich
Irenes (many)
Andrew Zonenberg