SpaceX Launch Today: What's the Schedule and Where Can I Watch?
SpaceX Just Launched *More* Starlink Satellites? Who Cares?
Oh great, another "historic" SpaceX launch. Yawn. I swear, these guys are launching stuff into space so often now it's less "Neil Armstrong walking on the moon" and more "Tuesday afternoon." And yeah, yeah, I get it: Starlink, connecting the world, blah, blah, blah. But let's be real, is anyone actually excited about this anymore?
They launched 29 more Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center. Okay. The booster, B1092, flew for the eighth time. Whatever. Landed on a drone ship, "A Shortfall of Gravitas." Seriously, who comes up with these names? It all feels so… manufactured. Like a PR stunt disguised as progress.
California Dreamin' (of Clear Skies)
And then there's the launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. A government weather satellite this time, Sentinel-6B. Supposedly, it's going to measure sea levels and atmospheric temperatures. Cool, I guess. Because apparently, we haven't collected enough data on the impending climate apocalypse already.
This launch is also the first one under some new FAA curfew, restricting launches to between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Makes sense, I guess. Can't have those pesky rocket launches disrupting people's sleep. Though, give me a break, if you live near a SPACE FORCE BASE, you should probably expect some noise.
You know what really grinds my gears? All this talk about "reusable boosters." They make it sound like they're saving the planet, but let's not forget who's launching all this crap into orbit in the first place. SpaceX ain't exactly known for its commitment to environmental sustainability, offcourse. It's like a oil company touting its investment in solar panels. Smoke and mirrors.
Blue Origin Finally Joins the Party?
Oh, and speaking of reusable boosters, apparently Blue Origin finally managed to land one. Good for them. Only took them, what, a decade to catch up to SpaceX? Now they can ferry useless billionaires into space too. What a time to be alive. Blue Origin rocket successfully lands booster during launch
But seriously, is this the best we can do? Launching satellites and giving joyrides to the ultra-rich? Where's the actual innovation? Where's the groundbreaking science? Where's the...dare I say it...inspiration?
Maybe I'm just being cynical. Maybe I'm just jaded. But I can't shake the feeling that we're all being sold a bill of goods here. A shiny, space-age distraction from the very real problems we face down here on Earth.
So, What's the Point?
Look, I'm not saying space exploration is inherently bad. But let's not pretend that these SpaceX launches are some kind of altruistic endeavor. It's about money, power, and Elon Musk's ego. And until they start addressing the real issues, I'm just not buying it.