He amazes me too. But perhaps not on the same way as he does you.
- Thread starter JD Jones
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Who's watching Starship this morning?
This fella moves like he's from another universe.
I was walking out of a friend's apartment around 7-8pm on Feb 18th up in Sosua (remember the date cos it was his bday) with a group of friends and we saw one of Elon's rockets flying thru the night sky.
Really cool experience.
None of us were sure what we witnessed until the following day when reading the news.
Most folks don't realize he's sent a ton of Starlink satellites. Over 8000, to be exact. And that's money out of his pocket.
Given that 2024 saw 89 Starlink launches and considering the pace in early 2025 (with at least 14 Falcon 9 missions by February 1, 2025, 9 of which were Starlink missions), we can estimate the total. From May 2019 to the end of 2023, approximately 66 Starlink missions occurred (derived by subtracting the 89 missions in 2024 from the 155 total missions noted by April 2024, adjusting for the first four months of 2024). Adding the 89 missions from 2024 and at least 9 more in 2025 up to February 1, we arrive at a minimum of 164 Starlink-specific launches by early 2025. With additional launches likely occurring between February 1 and March 7, 2025 (SpaceX often launches multiple times per month), the total could be closer to 170–175 by now, though this is an estimate.
And now he's figured out how to communicate with cel phones on earth on a commercial basis.
Imagine being anywhere in the world, and have cel phone service.
I’m looking forward to the satellite cell phone service and not just for DR. We live on a lake in a wooded area of NJ that is a cell dead zone. We utilize WiFi for calls, not ideal.
I have lot of respect for anyone who makes a concerted effort to help make this world a better place for the rest of us...
on his dime.
I snapped a picture too but I somehow managed to delete it when cleaning out my phone recently.
Thanks for sharing.
Sure, as you can see above, the launching of satellites is visible from DR.
Flight from Punta Cana diverted due to SpaceX debris
<p>Punta Cana.- A JetBlue flight traveling from Punta Cana to New York was unexpectedly diverted to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday afternoon due to debris from the launch of SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft. The flight, JBU1168, an Airbus A320-232, was among several aircraft in the Caribbean...
dominicantoday.com
That comment from CR is definitely not DR related. MUSK'S only concern is making a better place for HIMSELF.
The ability to communicate with cel phones anyway on earth from satellites has been available for decades. SATCOM has been using the technology for commercial aviation and marine transportation clients. Initially it was very expensive but now it’s less expensive and an attractive option for private yacht and aircraft owners. It offers them another level of safety while transiting remote land areas and the world’s oceans. I used Iridium sat phones back in the late 80’s.
Musk didn’t figure it out. He’s trying to make its usage more popular and less expensive to get more clients to sign up for the services on his Starlink network, an expensive network to launch and deploy. Starlink and Explore Net compete directly in my area for data services via satellite. Both are very close in price. Starlink has the advantage of portability. Very easy to relocate to other residences, and cottages. I don’t know if Explore Net is available in the DR.
Musk is getting pushback from some countries. The province of Ontario just canceled a multimillion dollar contract to use Starlink to increase data availability in remote areas. The Cybertruck is unsuitable in areas where winter storm conditions are common. Some countries are threatening to put a 100% tariff on Tesla’s.
His ideas are hits and misses like many cutting edge entrepreneurs. Like many private companies, Boeing, Lockheed, he relies heavily on government contracts and government funded R&D. Like the Chinese, he takes current technology from other countries and makes it cheaper and better.
It must really suck to live on the miserable side. Normally I don't give ignorance a pass however I've had a rather pleasant morning so I'll cut you a break.
I take it you didn't watch the Starship this morning?
So everyone, it's 6pm, time to go to NASA live feed of the SpaceX rescue mission set to happen in less than 2 hours.
Take off is scheduled for 7:48 pm. Take your minds off of the missing tourist for a while.
With the video cameras they have all over these spaceships, it should be really interesting
Take off is scheduled for 7:48 pm. Take your minds off of the missing tourist for a while.
With the video cameras they have all over these spaceships, it should be really interesting