Does anyone remember Reagan’s Star Wars/SDI? The final solution settled on for global ballistic missile defense was called Brilliant Pebbles. The hardware for Brilliant Pebbles was extensively tested and found very feasible even 30 years ago. It also wasn’t that expensive – perhaps $10 billion in 1990s dollars, probably $40 or $50 billion today.

The crushing expense that prevented Brilliant Pebbles from ever being implemented was launch costs. The system would have required about 5000 satellites each weighing 1-2000 lbs, which at the time would have meant a launch cost of about $100 billion dollars, or half a trillion in today’s worthless dollars. Plus, the very idea of building a constellation of thousands of satellites was utterly unprecedented at the time and seen as totally unrealistic, if not impossible.

But now we have the means to put thousands of satellites into orbit at a small fraction of 1990s costs, and a demonstrated track record in doing so. Time to reconsider Brilliant Pebbles? How much is almost total protection from ballistic missiles, certainly missiles with ranges over 500km, worth? Unfortunately, we no longer have an early 90s DoD and defense industrial base, so they’d probably wreck the program and charge trillions of dollars for it, but perhaps one of the new defense start ups like Anduril could collaborate with SpaceX to provide thorough ballistic missile defense for under $100 billion, spread over 6-8 years?

Why Do South Texans Object To SpaceX Launches?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/why-do-south-texans-object-to-spacex-launches/ar-AA1sKHHt?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=93581a6a985d412288dbb7ed2a8c7075&ei=74
?”

Of course, only a small minority do (Headline should read “Why Do SOME South Texans Object To SpaceX Launches”) and the idea many of h are actually from South Texas is questionable

F: It seems to me that this request is the result of SpaceX’s growing experience database from the Starlink satellites in orbit, and was put out now because now is when it needs to be submitted. To get this many satellites in orbit will require Starship, and its development suggests it will within a very short time be deploying some. Based on how long the FCC generally functions, the sooner the application is put in, the better.

Getting it in prior to the election however is wise.

Do you have any thoughts on the TIMING of this request from SpaceX, relative to the election?