Okay, so SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites last night. Twenty-nine more of those V2 Mini things, SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now. And?
The Starlink Monotony
Seriously, are we just collectively shrugging at this point? It's like the damn weather. "Oh, look, another Starlink launch. Guess I'll grab a coffee." Remember when space launches were, you know, events? Now it's just another Tuesday in the Elon Musk Cinematic Universe.
They're calling this one Starlink 6-81. Mission 6-81. Like it’s a software update. Which, let's be real, it probably is. Just pushing out more bandwidth to stream cat videos in rural Montana. Not that I'm against cat videos, mind you...
And get this: SpaceX apparently has "at least seven such missions planned before the Thanksgiving Day holiday." Seven! That's like a Starlink launch every other day. I'm starting to think Musk is trying to build a giant, shiny middle finger to anyone who complains about their internet speed.
SpaceX is bragging about their launch cadence, [Space.com reports]. They launched 146 times this year already, including five Starship test flights. Good for them, I guess. But how many of those launches are just chucking more satellites into orbit for a service most of us are already paying through the nose for?
Don't even get me started on the light pollution. Remember seeing stars? Yeah, those were the days. Now we have to compete with a freaking artificial constellation. It's like living in a screensaver.
Booster Bores Us
And offcourse, the booster landed on the drone ship. Yawn.
This time it was B1094, making its fifth trip. [Spaceflight Now] tells us it previously launched Crew-11, Ax-4, NG-23, and Starlink 12-10. So, basically, it's the space equivalent of a commuter bus. Reliable, sure, but about as exciting as watching paint dry.
"Autonomous landing on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions’…" Seriously? Who comes up with these names? It sounds like something out of a Douglas Adams novel, but without the humor. Just corporate irony poisoning.
I wonder, does anyone at SpaceX ever stop and think about the long-term consequences of all this? Or are they too busy counting their billions and planning the next Mars colony? Because last I checked, Mars ain't exactly looking habitable anytime soon.
Wait, back to the booster. It was the 140th booster landing on that particular vessel and the 529th booster landing to date. Five hundred and twenty-nine! Do you know how many trees could have been planted with the money spent on all those landings? Or, you know, actual useful things?
A Sky Full of... Satellites
Look, I get it. Internet for everyone is a noble goal. But at what cost? A sky full of space junk? A constant barrage of launches that make Cape Canaveral sound like a freaking warzone? Maybe I'm just getting old, but I miss the days when space travel felt special. Now, it's just another line item on Elon Musk's to-do list.
And all these other launches happening this week? Ariane 6, New Glenn, Atlas V, Chang Zheng 7A, Kinetica-1, and Electron. It's a freaking space traffic jam. Who's directing this mess?
I saw a photo from Florida Today of the launch lighting up the Cocoa Beach skyline. Arching over the full super Beaver moon, they said. Beautiful, right? Except the moon is probably weeping because it can barely be seen through the satellite trails.
Is This Progress, or Just Noise?
I'm starting to feel like a grumpy old man yelling at a cloud, but seriously, is this progress? Or just a lot of noise and light pollution disguised as innovation? Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe in 50 years, we'll all be living in space condos, streaming cat videos directly into our brains. But right now, it just feels… overwhelming.
So, What's the Real Story?
Honestly, who even cares anymore? The magic is gone. Space is just another playground for billionaires, and we're all just paying the price.