Dave - Thanks for the reference. I was literally *dreaming* in orbital mechanics for several months last summer. I'm not sure what that was about except maybe being a 21st generation variation on the running, swimming, skipping, swinging, careening, flying dreams that were common in my childhood.
Hope things are going well over there in the shadow of windmills... - Steve > Daniel Suarez’s latest book, Delta-V, is great read - lots about the > junk in orbit, the futility of Mars, and the viability of asteroid > mining. Even has a Musk type ‘hero’. > dve west > > > On Mon, May 27, 2019, at 9:12 PM, Steven A Smith wrote: >> >> <another long-winded anecdote> >> I was born "under the rising sign of Sputnik" in 1957 (S1 & S2 went >> up late that year). I was just about 1 year old when Explorer 1 and >> then Vanguard 1 went up in early 1958. Vanguard 1, 2, 3 are still up >> there, being in an unusually high orbit for the time. The >> crowdsource Moonwatch >> <https://www.universetoday.com/100744/citizen-science-old-school-style-the-true-tale-of-operation-moonwatch/> >> project was already developing and was used to try to track/find >> Vanguard, but the first siting of an artificial satellite was of >> Sputnik. Ham radio folks were tracking the radio signals, but visual >> siting (telescope or binoculars) was much trickier. >> >> Some here were born early enough to have been young adults at that >> time and probably have first-hand memories of these events, and >> perhaps even attempting their own observations? My first experience >> with direct satellite observation was *probably* when the Echo >> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Echo>"satelloons" were up. At >> roughly 100' diameter with a deliberately reflective surface (passive >> microwave relays), they were apparently highly visible to the naked eye. >> >> We've come a long way baby! </anecdote> >> >> <speculation> We (humans collectively) now have something >> approaching 10,000 satellites or fragments in orbit... one man's >> "trash" is another man's "treasure" of course. I haven't heard Musk >> announce a SpaceX "Salvage Operation" yet, but at some point, that >> seems like a viable business, given the expense of launch... the >> materials in derelict satellites would seem to be valuable once a >> method for "recycling" those materials could be developed. I >> believe we are still in the early stages of a "radiation" of >> design-species in satellites, not having settled on any specific body >> plan and functional conceit... some might eventually depend on a >> modest amount of "foraging" once in orbit? >> >> Delta-V is clearly the most valuable resource which for all but >> solar/mag-sail propulsion depends on reaction mass... which suggests >> turning "big ones into little ones" with space junk (grapefruit to >> bus-sized objects) into streams of (ionized) particles as small as >> individual molecules. Variations on "tether" and "sail" technology >> also may be good uses of captured "space junk". A big challenge to >> all this is the orbital mechanics sophistication to use less DeltaV >> matching orbits to "catch" junk than is gained by capturing it. Oh >> yeh... and still do something actually useful besides just wander >> around eating and pooping things. >> >> <speculation> >> >> >> On 5/27/19 10:09 AM, Owen Densmore wrote: >>> A TLDR post. It points to a video of the "train" but brings up >>> problems with the eventual number of the critters. >>> >>> -- Owen >>> >>> Sightings of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites spark awe — and >>> astronomical angst (3 minute read) >>> <https://tracking.tldrnewsletter.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2019%2Fsightings-spacexs-starlink-satellites-spark-awe-astronomical-angst%2F/1/0100016af8bd48bf-94af9903-5a99-4bdc-914c-330937053b7f-000000/1p5yHFi__nt-eWCq_QXyb1VvhqluhaiG5EZV4OIiDqY=90> >>> >>> SpaceX has launched 60 of its Starlink broadband satellites into the >>> sky, creating a chain of satellites that could be observed by >>> enthusiasts in a number of locations around the world. Some >>> astronomers have expressed concern that the brightness from the >>> satellites will interfere with observations of the night sky, >>> especially when all 11,000 satellites are deployed. Elon Musk has >>> confirmed that the satellites will be dark when the stars are visible. >>> >>> >>> On Mon, May 27, 2019 at 9:57 AM Stephen Guerin >>> <redfishgroup...@gmail.com <mailto:redfishgroup...@gmail.com>> wrote: >>> >>> Any idea on how far separated ground cameras would need to to >>> get triangulate 3d using a shift in the apparent RA and >>> declination of the background start field? >>> >>> On Mon, May 27, 2019, 8:49 AM Roger Critchlow <r...@elf.org >>> <mailto:r...@elf.org>> wrote: >>> >>> The prediction has shifted to a few minutes earlier tonight, >>> appears 20h53, disappears 21h04, track passes close to Vega >>> then close to Arcturus. >>> >>> -- rec -- >>> >>> On Sun, May 26, 2019 at 10:15 PM Roger Critchlow >>> <r...@elf.org <mailto:r...@elf.org>> wrote: >>> >>> They were early, about 21h40m at the meridian, three >>> were bright from 45d altitude, others may have flickered >>> into visibility or may have been my imagination. >>> >>> The predicted pass in Santa Fe for Monday the 27th of >>> May is from 21h01m10s to 21h12m23s, from SW to NE again, >>> passing close to Vega. Give yourself some slack on the >>> time, the speed depends on the altitude and the >>> satellites are supposed to be boosting higher ever 90 >>> minutes. >>> >>> -- rec -- >>> >>> >>> On Sun, May 26, 2019 at 12:03 PM Roger Critchlow >>> <r...@elf.org <mailto:r...@elf.org>> wrote: >>> >>> According to calsky.com <http://calsky.com> the >>> trail of the 60 starlink satellites rises in Santa >>> Fe this evening at 21h40m28s in the SW and sets >>> at 21h51m43s in the NE. They are 8.5mag at the >>> horizon which is too dim to see, but they should >>> reach 4.7mag at the meridian at 21h46m17s. Looks >>> like they'll pass close to the last star in the big >>> dipper's handle. >>> >>> -- rec -- >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wedtech mailing list >>> wedt...@redfish.com <mailto:wedt...@redfish.com> >>> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/wedtech_redfish.com >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wedtech mailing list >>> wedt...@redfish.com <mailto:wedt...@redfish.com> >>> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/wedtech_redfish.com >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wedtech mailing list >>> wedt...@redfish.com <mailto:wedt...@redfish.com> >>> http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/wedtech_redfish.com >>> >> ============================================================ >> FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >> Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >> to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com >> archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ >> FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove >> > > > ============================================================ > FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv > Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College > to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com > archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ > FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College to unsubscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com archives back to 2003: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/ FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ by Dr. Strangelove
