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Context missing. This is in reference to a vision the (distant?) future where the satellites are manufactured in factories on the Moon and sent into space with

by spikels 8mo ago

Context missing. This is in reference to a vision the (distant?) future where the satellites are manufactured in factories on the Moon and sent into space with mass drivers. Full paragraph quote comes from: > While launching AI satellites from Earth is the immediate focus, Starship’s capabilities will also enable operations on other worlds. Thanks to advancements like in-space propellant transfer, Starship will be capable of landing massive amounts of cargo on the Moon. Once there, it will be possible to establish a permanent presence for scientific and manufacturing pursuits. Factories on the Moon can take advantage of lunar resources to manufacture satellites and deploy them further into space. By using an electromagnetic mass driver and lunar manufacturing, it is possible to put 500 to 1000 TW/year of AI satellites into deep space, meaningfully ascend the Kardashev scale and harness a non-trivial percentage of the Sun’s power. >

titzer 8mo ago
> This is in reference to a vision the (distant?) future where the satellites are manufactured in factories on the Moon and sent into space with mass drivers. In the meantime, how about affordable insulin for everybody?
- eamag 8mo ago
  Isn't it already somewhat affordable? https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-insulin-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-i... It's a political problem, not a tech problem
  - Cthulhu_ 8mo ago
    Exactly; most of the world's problems are political problems. Which Musk has no intention to fix, of course, because he's more about money and (buying) status with it. He had an opportunity but decided to aid the regime in extracting people's data instead (probably selling it to adversaries).
fluoridation 8mo ago
Why would satellites be manufactured on the moon? There's nothing on the moon. The raw materials would have to be ferried over first. What would be the point?
- 01100011 8mo ago
  It would appeal to naive technofetishists, the same crowd of investors enamored by many of Elon's other impossible schemes. The moon mfg makes significantly more sense than the hilarious plan to establish a permanent Mars base in the next 50 years, but that's not saying much.
- andsoitis 8mo ago
  > Why would satellites be manufactured on the moon? There's nothing on the moon. The raw materials would have to be ferried over first. What would be the point? From lunar regolith you would extract: oxygen, iron, aluminum, titanium, silicon, calcium, and magnesium. From the poles you can get fuel (water ice -> water + hydrogen + oxygen). The real constraint is not materials, but rather power generation, automation reliability, and initial capital investment. So you have to shuttle machines, energy systems, and electronics. The moon can supply mass, oxygen, fuel, and structure. Satellites that would benefit most are: huge comms platforms, space-based power satellites, large radar arrays, deep-space telescopes, etc.
  - fluoridation 8mo ago
    >From lunar regolith you would extract: oxygen, iron, aluminum, titanium, silicon, calcium, and magnesium. Do we actually know how to do that? >From the poles From the poles! So the proposal includes building a planetary-scale railway network on bumpy lunar terrain. >The moon can supply mass, oxygen, fuel, and structure. None of those are things we are hurting for down here, though.
    - pjerem 8mo ago
      > So the proposal includes building a planetary-scale railway network on bumpy lunar terrain. And that’s from a fascist who barely managed to dig ONE small one lane tunnel under Las Vegas and called it a revolution. I’m sorry to be rude but people who are still giving musk any credit are stupid at this point. Oh boy, IA data centers in space. It’s not only ridiculous, but it’s also boring and not even exciting at all.
tyre 8mo ago
Why is it cheaper to ship all of the materials to space, then to the moon for assembly (which also includes shipping all of the people and supplies to keep them alive), then back into space vs just… building them on earth and then shipping them up? We’re not exactly at a loss for land over here.
- jcims 8mo ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_resources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_resources In situ manufacturing. You just have to send enough to build the thing that builds the factory.
  - jcranmer 8mo ago
    It's not like satellites need anything like computer chips, which are finicky things to build that require parts with a sole supplier on the entire planet.
- mr_toad 8mo ago
  You can make propellant on the Moon (aluminum based solid fuels), and the energy to get into orbit or into deep space is far, far less that from Earth’s surface.
- phtrivier 8mo ago
  > which also includes shipping all of the people and supplies to keep them alive) What do you mean, "people" ? I'm pretty sure Musk is only expecting to send self-assembling Optimus robots [1] to do the whole manufacturing. [1] "pre-order now, expected delivery any time soon" (Oh, those times where you try to be sarcastic and realize: "wait, maybe that's the actual plan".)
danso 8mo ago
That makes much more sense tbh. I believe Musk predicted in 2021 that we would land humans on the moon by 2024 [0]. That obviously has been deprioritized but how many Starships have delivered 50+ tons of payload to the moon so far? [0] https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/spacex-boss-elon-musk-starship-humans-moon-2024 https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/spacex-boss-elo...

by spikels 8mo ago

titzer 8mo ago

> This is in reference to a vision the (distant?) future where the satellites are manufactured in factories on the Moon and sent into space with mass drivers. In the meantime, how about affordable insulin for everybody?

eamag 8mo ago
Isn't it already somewhat affordable? https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-insulin-by-country https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-i... It's a political problem, not a tech problem
- Cthulhu_ 8mo ago
  Exactly; most of the world's problems are political problems. Which Musk has no intention to fix, of course, because he's more about money and (buying) status with it. He had an opportunity but decided to aid the regime in extracting people's data instead (probably selling it to adversaries).

fluoridation 8mo ago

Why would satellites be manufactured on the moon? There's nothing on the moon. The raw materials would have to be ferried over first. What would be the point?

01100011 8mo ago
It would appeal to naive technofetishists, the same crowd of investors enamored by many of Elon's other impossible schemes. The moon mfg makes significantly more sense than the hilarious plan to establish a permanent Mars base in the next 50 years, but that's not saying much.
andsoitis 8mo ago
> Why would satellites be manufactured on the moon? There's nothing on the moon. The raw materials would have to be ferried over first. What would be the point? From lunar regolith you would extract: oxygen, iron, aluminum, titanium, silicon, calcium, and magnesium. From the poles you can get fuel (water ice -> water + hydrogen + oxygen). The real constraint is not materials, but rather power generation, automation reliability, and initial capital investment. So you have to shuttle machines, energy systems, and electronics. The moon can supply mass, oxygen, fuel, and structure. Satellites that would benefit most are: huge comms platforms, space-based power satellites, large radar arrays, deep-space telescopes, etc.
- fluoridation 8mo ago
  >From lunar regolith you would extract: oxygen, iron, aluminum, titanium, silicon, calcium, and magnesium. Do we actually know how to do that? >From the poles From the poles! So the proposal includes building a planetary-scale railway network on bumpy lunar terrain. >The moon can supply mass, oxygen, fuel, and structure. None of those are things we are hurting for down here, though.
  - pjerem 8mo ago
    > So the proposal includes building a planetary-scale railway network on bumpy lunar terrain. And that’s from a fascist who barely managed to dig ONE small one lane tunnel under Las Vegas and called it a revolution. I’m sorry to be rude but people who are still giving musk any credit are stupid at this point. Oh boy, IA data centers in space. It’s not only ridiculous, but it’s also boring and not even exciting at all.

tyre 8mo ago

Why is it cheaper to ship all of the materials to space, then to the moon for assembly (which also includes shipping all of the people and supplies to keep them alive), then back into space vs just… building them on earth and then shipping them up? We’re not exactly at a loss for land over here.

jcims 8mo ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_resources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_resources In situ manufacturing. You just have to send enough to build the thing that builds the factory.
- jcranmer 8mo ago
  It's not like satellites need anything like computer chips, which are finicky things to build that require parts with a sole supplier on the entire planet.
mr_toad 8mo ago
You can make propellant on the Moon (aluminum based solid fuels), and the energy to get into orbit or into deep space is far, far less that from Earth’s surface.
phtrivier 8mo ago
> which also includes shipping all of the people and supplies to keep them alive) What do you mean, "people" ? I'm pretty sure Musk is only expecting to send self-assembling Optimus robots [1] to do the whole manufacturing. [1] "pre-order now, expected delivery any time soon" (Oh, those times where you try to be sarcastic and realize: "wait, maybe that's the actual plan".)

danso 8mo ago

That makes much more sense tbh. I believe Musk predicted in 2021 that we would land humans on the moon by 2024 [0]. That obviously has been deprioritized but how many Starships have delivered 50+ tons of payload to the moon so far? [0] https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/spacex-boss-elon-musk-starship-humans-moon-2024 https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/spacex-boss-elo...