Mastodawn

Prof. Sam Lawler

RE: https://mastodon.social/@sundogplanets/116053742685475452

Deadlines for comments on a million SpaceX "AI data centers" and a company that wants to deliver "sunlight as a service" are coming up soon. If you have time and energy, please write a comment! Instructions below.

(I heard a rumour that Reflect Orbital is on-track to have the most comments on an FCC filing ever. Seems like a good goal to beat the record writing responses to this incredibly fucking stupid idea)

Also instructions here: https://darksky.org/news/two-satellite-proposals-threaten-the-night-sky-the-window-to-act-is-now/

Prof. Sam Lawler Mar 6

I helped write and edit comments that were submitted by multiple organizations that I'm a member of about SpaceX's fucking stupid awful million sat filing, but I haven't submitted my own yet. After a week of emotionally grueling (but incredibly important) work supporting a good friend, battling the FCC submission process doesn't sound so bad anymore!

Prof. Sam Lawler Mar 6

Ok well another Starlink just reentered over Canada. So yeah. Definitely writing this now.

Time to live-toot an FCC submission while completely exhausted, but also watching a pleasant anime with friends and family!

Prof. Sam Lawler Mar 6

Step 1: make a pdf. I think I'm going to mash together these two articles that I co-authored in the last couple weeks about very stupid things happening in orbit with huge consequences.

https://theconversation.com/too-many-satellites-earths-orbit-is-on-track-for-a-catastrophe-but-we-can-stop-it-275430

https://theconversation.com/a-new-space-race-could-turn-our-atmosphere-into-a-crematorium-for-satellites-276366

Unfortunately this'll require a bit of work because the different ways of doing citations. Or maybe I'll just leave the links in? I am pretty far beyond caring about formatting.

Too many satellites? Earth’s orbit is on track for a catastrophe – but we can stop it

Cultural, spiritual, and most environmental impacts aren’t taken into account when launching thousands of satellites.

The Conversation

Prof. Sam Lawler Mar 6

Ok that took a little longer than I thought. Do I want it to be on letterhead? Will my university be annoyed? I *am* writing as part of my job as a researcher who requires access to dark skies, but I am not writing on behalf of my university. Will go with blank background for this one.

Now working my way through the instructions here: https://aas.org/posts/advocacy/2026/02/how-submit-comments-satellite-applications-fcc

I already have a Cores account, signed in and clicking on things...

Prof. Sam Lawler Mar 6

Submitted!

I am an astronomer who has asked nicely for years for SpaceX to be safer in orbit, think about ways to use fewer satellites, think about the consequences of burning up so many satellites, and think about ways to make their satellites darker. This filing proposing a million satellites is a clear "fuck you" from SpaceX to the entire astronomy community, as well as the entire planet.

So, fuck you, too, SpaceX!

Prof. Sam Lawler Mar 6

Several organizations I'm part of have now submitted their comments on the incredibly fucking stupid SpaceX-million-AI-data-center filing, so now it's time to turn all my anger on the even fucking STUPIDER Reflect Orbital filing for sunlight-as-a-service.

Writing these other comments and convincing as many people as possible to also write comments is going to require an awful lot of swearing and complaining from me over the next 3 days, fediverse. I hope you're all ready for it.

Tyrone Slothrop Mar 6

@sundogplanets While I understand the problem, I’m glad to see that the hard days have passed at least to a degree where you’re able to swear at satellites again.

Roy -- the dull one Mar 6

If you can throw some light on this lunacy, I won't complain!

Ms. Que Banh Mar 6

@sundogplanets We are ready!

BakersRelay Mar 6

@sundogplanets Promoting to #AI

Paco Hope Mar 6

@sundogplanets
pulls up a chair and grabs popcorn
We wouldn’t have it any other way!

bencourtice Mar 6

@sundogplanets ready? this kind of thing is what I come here for!

MidgePhoto Mar 7

@sundogplanets
If we are going to have mirrors in space, they should be directing heat away from the planet, not at it.

Jo - pièce de résistance Mar 7

@Photo55 @sundogplanets
Mirrors pointing at us reflecting the sun to targeted spots is going to be like a Space Laser. Like holding a magnifying glass to burn something using the sun.

MidgePhoto Mar 7

@JoBlakely
A lens subtracts light/heat from the area around the hot spot.
Consider the dark zone between the primary and secondary rainbow.
A mirror just adds light/heat to the hot spot.
Although, if we had dichroic mirrors they could let heat pass through, and send us light, indeed light at the blue end, omitting the green plants don't absorb.

Blockading tankers, coalers, and blowing pipelines is probably more effective though. And interestingly occurring.

MidgePhoto Mar 7

@JoBlakely Alexander's dark zone, IIRC.

RiaResists Mar 7

@sundogplanets
Thank you so much for all you do!
And thank you for keeping us updated ❤️

Samantaz Fox Mar 7

@sundogplanets We're all behind you, ready as ever!

Snowgaze ❄️

@sundogplanets thank you for doing this for us all.

Detlef Steuer Mar 6

@sundogplanets Another big thank you for your efforts from Germany!

Mᴀʀᴋ VᴀɴᴅᴇWᴇᴛᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ Mar 6

@sundogplanets The future, brought to you courtesy of BnL.

Vincent 🌻🇪🇺 en 🌹☘️Mar 6

@sundogplanets Thank you!🙏

Rock'n'Roll_φapy 🔻Mar 6

@sundogplanets
Le fascisme est un "fuck you" à l'ensemble de l'humanité.

Otte Homan - remember Geordie Mar 6

@sundogplanets amen.

@sundogplanets Is the above the text of your submission?

Prof. Sam Lawler Mar 6

@MikeH No, I save up all my swear words for social media :)

Julescelt Mar 6

@sundogplanets I think the most annoying part of all this is; coproations are no longer operating in small regional areas where their environmental damages are more limited and can be easily remediated...

They now operate on a global scale, with 8+ billion other humans and didn't ask any of us if it was ok to destroy the planet and human culture.

And then they create narratives of how they're being 'altruistic'.

Well, f**k SpaceX.

Hans Vink 🐦Mar 6

@sundogplanets Maybe, just as an example of what your work will be like if they are allowed to continue, submit another with bright yellow letters on a white paper.

Process "Tedious" Parsnip Mar 6

@sundogplanets oooh what anime

G. Wozniak Mar 6

@sundogplanets For what it's worth, I've submitted mine.

I don't have anything of substance to add except "this sucks", basically, but I'm sending the comment anyway.

The Turtle Mar 4

@sundogplanets even more comments than Janet Jackson's tit?

The Turtle Mar 4

@sundogplanets even more comments than Janet Jackson's tit?

ARGVMI~1.PIF Mar 4

What is SpaceX even actually trying to do? Because putting AI data centers in space obviously isn't it.

Space is a vacuum. There's no heat-absorbing medium (air, water, etc) to use for cooling. Put a data center's worth of AI computers into a large space station, and the whole thing will burn itself to a crisp in short order.

Spacecraft use slow, simple computers for a reason. Several, actually, but one of them is that they don't use much power and don't make much heat.

ARGVMI~1.PIF Mar 4

Another of the aforementioned reasons is that there's a lot of bit-flipping cosmic rays out there. Your fancy NVIDIA AI chip isn't gonna work too well with no atmosphere protecting its delicate nanoscopic circuitry from all those high-energy particles.

Tl;dr: physics says no.

So either SpaceX somehow aren't aware of all this, or they've got something else in mind for all those space stations.

glasspshr Mar 4

@argv_minus_one @sundogplanets they’re using the announcement to raise money/keep ahead of the joneses in the ai space

He’s already backtracked on mars…

ARGVMI~1.PIF Mar 5

Aw, c'mon, where's the villainy in that? You can't put a bunch of space stations into orbit without hiding giant lasers in them or something.

Marlene Breitenstein Art Mar 6

@argv_minus_one @glasspusher @sundogplanets Very possibly diversion and distraction, wasting the opposition’s time, another thing to stay in the news, another thing to appear to stay relevant, and just generally creating a lot of hogwash.

ARGVMI~1.PIF Mar 6

@breitensteinart

Yeah but that's just garden-variety political shenanigans, not villainy. Villainy involves lasers. This plan has no lasers. Needs more lasers.

🤔 I guess the sunlight-reflecting satellites could all focus their sunlight on the same spot. That'd be pretty villainous. There was a Bond villain who did that, in fact.

@glasspusher @sundogplanets

glasspshr Mar 6

@argv_minus_one @breitensteinart @sundogplanets

Marlene- vis a vis Boring Company distracting from high speed rail?

Marlene Breitenstein Art Mar 8

@glasspusher @argv_minus_one @sundogplanets I confess, I’m not sure what you’re referring to! 🥸

glasspshr Mar 8

@breitensteinart @argv_minus_one @sundogplanets

Like you said above- diversion and distraction

Lot⁴⁹ Mar 4

@sundogplanets Sunlight as a̶ ̶s̶e̶r̶v̶i̶c̶e̶ environmental menace.

Frank Heijkamp Mar 6

@12thRITS
A Sunlight Service, I think it's ASS.
@sundogplanets

Idaho buckeye Mar 4

@sundogplanets another Elon scam to grab billionaires from our government. The US is so stupid

SmashedRatOnPress Mar 4

@sundogplanets Thanks for providing templates and detailed instructions. Worked great, thanks. I filed comments on both of this insane proposals. 😎

Jeff McNeill Mar 5

@sundogplanets @artfulrobot Science fiction is writing itself...

@sundogplanets Just a reminder to all my Amateur Radio friends...

The bar for making comments has been set unfairly high, since it requires a CORES account. But we all have this account already, since it's a requirement for a ham radio license. So we are in a far better position than most of the public to comment.

It's up to us to comment for the millions of people denied the opportunity. Don't pass this chance up!

#hamradio #amateurradio

@sundogplanets Isn't the real idea for energy & satellites to use microwave relays because it has better atmospheric penetration anyway?

(Needlessly expensive for nothing compared to conventional terrestrial solar, wind & so on.)

Why this ridiculous idea with conventional mirrors (that will probably require maintenance or replacement much more frequently too).

, including disruption to wildlife and ecosystems that depend on natural cycles of light and dark

Oh yeah, what kind of horrible non-obvious externalities would be fucked up as a consequence in the doing?

trystimuli Mar 5

@lispi314 pretty sure the heat from conversion losses on the satellite destroy that idea too. even a 15% loss is disastrous for that much power in a vacuum.

Mx. Chara Aznable (they/them) of Pnictogen Mar 5

@sundogplanets phew they do not make it easy do they

Christoph Wendel Mar 5

@sundogplanets You may consider signing the #A4E statement on Proposed Large Satellite Constellations: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdnBbw-dATjyHVovhoDTtl_VYKWZTs7T8ZbF9sC7oRdDILrEw/viewform

#AstronomersForPlanetEarth

Endorsement of A4E's statement on Proposed Large Satellite Constellations

This form aims at gathering signatures from A4E members who support the statement on the newly proposed large satellite constellations, available here. The names collected through this form will be added at the end of the statement and made publicly available. The statement will be submitted to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, following the AAS call for feedback on two constellation projects. Your name will be collected solely for the purpose of endorsing the official statement. By providing your name and consenting below, you agree to have your name publicly listed as an endorser of this statement. We will not use your data for any other purpose. Your data will be stored securely and retained only as long as necessary for this purpose.

Google Docs

My camera shoots fascists Mar 7

Just sent mine in about SpaceX mega constellation. Will do Reflect Orbital tomorrow. Having zero expertise in this matter, it sometimes feels a little silly submitting formal comments, but I bet there's also value in simply flooding them with opposition.

Michael Sokolov Mar 8

@sundogplanets thanks for promoting this, I had no idea! Submitted a comment on the Reflect Orbital nutty plan, but missed the window for the 1M boondoggle, oh well