*AI Summary*
To provide a comprehensive review of this topic, the most appropriate group would be a panel of *Senior Defense Policy Analysts, Orbital Mechanics Engineers, and International Space Law Experts.*
### *Expert Persona: Senior Strategic Analyst, Aerospace & National Security*
---
*Abstract:*
This analysis examines the dual-use nature of SpaceX’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations, specifically the transition from the commercial Starlink mesh to the classified "Starshield" military project. Operating under a $1.8 billion contract with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Starshield represents a paradigm shift in modular orbital defense, offering encrypted communications, Earth observation, and missile tracking capabilities.
The synthesis highlights the geopolitical implications of private corporate control over critical military infrastructure, as evidenced by Starlink's pivotal role in the Ukraine conflict. Furthermore, the report addresses the technical and environmental risks associated with "mega-constellations," including the increased probability of Kessler Syndrome (cascade collisions), the emergence of Russian counter-space capabilities (ASAT systems), and the atmospheric degradation caused by aluminum oxide particulates during satellite re-entry.
---
*Strategic Assessment: Starshield and the Militarization of LEO*
* *0:00 The LEO Population Explosion:* Current orbital density stands at approximately 12,000 satellites, with over 7,000 belonging to SpaceX. Projections suggest a surge to 42,000 units.
* *Takeaway:* The rapid occupation of orbital shells by a single commercial entity creates a de facto monopoly on LEO infrastructure.
* *1:11 Starshield's Classified Mandate:* Unlike the consumer-facing Starlink, Starshield is a $1.8 billion defense-exclusive constellation designed for the US Department of Defense (DoD).
* *Takeaway:* The modular design allows the US government to "mix and match" payloads, including ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) and early-warning sensors.
* *3:07 Disaster Recovery as Proof-of-Concept:* Starlink’s success in Fiji and Vanuatu demonstrates the resilience of LEO meshes compared to vulnerable undersea fiber-optic cables.
* *Takeaway:* Commercial success serves as a rigorous testing ground for military-grade reliability.
* *8:04 High-Speed Optical Interconnects:* The system utilizes proprietary inter-satellite laser communication terminals (LCTs).
* *Takeaway:* Laser-based data links are significantly harder to jam or intercept than traditional radio frequency (RF) signals, providing superior spectral security.
* *9:21 Geopolitical Leverage and Corporate Sovereignty:* SpaceX leadership’s ability to "turn off" coverage in active war zones (e.g., Ukraine/Gaza) underscores a shift in power from sovereign states to private corporations.
* *Takeaway:* Dependence on private military assets introduces unprecedented variables in national security decision-making and theater-level command.
* *13:38 Escalation of Orbital Congestion:* In 2024, Starlink satellites performed collision-avoidance maneuvers every 30 seconds due to a 1-in-1-million risk threshold.
* *Takeaway:* The sheer volume of satellites necessitates automated traffic management, increasing the risk of unpredictable "chain reaction" movements.
* *15:45 Kessler Syndrome Risk Profile:* Space debris moving at 25,000 km/h possesses kinetic energy 25 times greater than a rifle bullet.
* *Takeaway:* A single high-velocity collision could trigger a debris cascade, rendering LEO inaccessible for decades (Kessler Syndrome).
* *20:05 Counter-Space Threats:* Russia's 2021 Nudol ASAT test destroyed the Cosmos 1408 satellite, creating 1,500 trackable fragments.
* *Takeaway:* Kinetic ASAT weapons and rumored space-based nuclear developments pose an existential threat to LEO constellations and international space stability.
* *24:07 Atmospheric & Environmental Impact:* Large-scale satellite re-entry releases aluminum oxide nanoparticles into the stratosphere.
* *Takeaway:* The "demisability" of satellites is not environmentally neutral; mass re-entry events may catalyze ozone depletion and alter atmospheric chemistry.
* *28:32 Conclusion on Orbital Stewardship:* The blurring lines between corporate interests and national defense require new international frameworks to ensure space remains a "viable domain" for future exploration.
* *Takeaway:* National security must be balanced against the long-term sustainability of the orbital environment.
AI-generated summary created with gemini-3-flash-preview for free via RocketRecap-dot-com. (Input: 21,533 tokens, Output: 986 tokens, Est. cost: $0.0137).Below, I will provide input for an example video (comprising of title, description, and transcript, in this order) and the corresponding abstract and summary I expect. Afterward, I will provide a new transcript that I want a summarization in the same format.
**Please give an abstract of the transcript and then summarize the transcript in a self-contained bullet list format.** Include starting timestamps, important details and key takeaways.
Example Input:
Fluidigm Polaris Part 2- illuminator and camera
mikeselectricstuff
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Fluidigm Polaris part 1 : • Fluidigm Polaris (Part 1) - Biotech g...
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Merch https://mikeselectricstuff.creator-sp...
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mikeselectricstuff
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40 Comments
@robertwatsonbath
6 hours ago
Thanks Mike. Ooof! - with the level of bodgery going on around 15:48 I think shame would have made me do a board re spin, out of my own pocket if I had to.
1
Reply
@Muonium1
9 hours ago
The green LED looks different from the others and uses phosphor conversion because of the "green gap" problem where green InGaN emitters suffer efficiency droop at high currents. Phosphide based emitters don't start becoming efficient until around 600nm so also can't be used for high power green emitters. See the paper and plot by Matthias Auf der Maur in his 2015 paper on alloy fluctuations in InGaN as the cause of reduced external quantum efficiency at longer (green) wavelengths.
4
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1 reply
@tafsirnahian669
10 hours ago (edited)
Can this be used as an astrophotography camera?
Reply
mikeselectricstuff
·
1 reply
@mikeselectricstuff
6 hours ago
Yes, but may need a shutter to avoid light during readout
Reply
@2010craggy
11 hours ago
Narrowband filters we use in Astronomy (Astrophotography) are sided- they work best passing light in one direction so I guess the arrows on the filter frames indicate which way round to install them in the filter wheel.
1
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@vitukz
12 hours ago
A mate with Channel @extractions&ire could use it
2
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@RobertGallop
19 hours ago
That LED module says it can go up to 28 amps!!! 21 amps for 100%. You should see what it does at 20 amps!
Reply
@Prophes0r
19 hours ago
I had an "Oh SHIT!" moment when I realized that the weird trapezoidal shape of that light guide was for keystone correction of the light source.
Very clever.
6
Reply
@OneBiOzZ
20 hours ago
given the cost of the CCD you think they could have run another PCB for it
9
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@tekvax01
21 hours ago
$20 thousand dollars per minute of run time!
1
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@tekvax01
22 hours ago
"We spared no expense!" John Hammond Jurassic Park.
*(that's why this thing costs the same as a 50-seat Greyhound Bus coach!)
Reply
@florianf4257
22 hours ago
The smearing on the image could be due to the fact that you don't use a shutter, so you see brighter stripes under bright areas of the image as you still iluminate these pixels while the sensor data ist shifted out towards the top. I experienced this effect back at university with a LN-Cooled CCD for Spectroscopy. The stripes disapeared as soon as you used the shutter instead of disabling it in the open position (but fokussing at 100ms integration time and continuous readout with a focal plane shutter isn't much fun).
12
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mikeselectricstuff
·
1 reply
@mikeselectricstuff
12 hours ago
I didn't think of that, but makes sense
2
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@douro20
22 hours ago (edited)
The red LED reminds me of one from Roithner Lasertechnik. I have a Symbol 2D scanner which uses two very bright LEDs from that company, one red and one red-orange. The red-orange is behind a lens which focuses it into an extremely narrow beam.
1
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@RicoElectrico
23 hours ago
PFG is Pulse Flush Gate according to the datasheet.
Reply
@dcallan812
23 hours ago
Very interesting. 2x
Reply
@littleboot_
1 day ago
Cool interesting device
Reply
@dav1dbone
1 day ago
I've stripped large projectors, looks similar, wonder if some of those castings are a magnesium alloy?
Reply
@kevywevvy8833
1 day ago
ironic that some of those Phlatlight modules are used in some of the cheapest disco lights.
1
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1 reply
@bill6255
1 day ago
Great vid - gets right into subject in title, its packed with information, wraps up quickly. Should get a YT award! imho
3
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@JAKOB1977
1 day ago (edited)
The whole sensor module incl. a 5 grand 50mpix sensor for 49 £.. highest bid atm
Though also a limited CCD sensor, but for the right buyer its a steal at these relative low sums.
Architecture Full Frame CCD (Square Pixels)
Total Number of Pixels 8304 (H) × 6220 (V) = 51.6 Mp
Number of Effective Pixels 8208 (H) × 6164 (V) = 50.5 Mp
Number of Active Pixels 8176 (H) × 6132 (V) = 50.1 Mp
Pixel Size 6.0 m (H) × 6.0 m (V)
Active Image Size 49.1 mm (H) × 36.8 mm (V)
61.3 mm (Diagonal),
645 1.1x Optical Format
Aspect Ratio 4:3
Horizontal Outputs 4
Saturation Signal 40.3 ke−
Output Sensitivity 31 V/e−
Quantum Efficiency
KAF−50100−CAA
KAF−50100−AAA
KAF−50100−ABA (with Lens)
22%, 22%, 16% (Peak R, G, B)
25%
62%
Read Noise (f = 18 MHz) 12.5 e−
Dark Signal (T = 60°C) 42 pA/cm2
Dark Current Doubling Temperature 5.7°C
Dynamic Range (f = 18 MHz) 70.2 dB
Estimated Linear Dynamic Range
(f = 18 MHz)
69.3 dB
Charge Transfer Efficiency
Horizontal
Vertical
0.999995
0.999999
Blooming Protection
(4 ms Exposure Time)
800X Saturation Exposure
Maximum Date Rate 18 MHz
Package Ceramic PGA
Cover Glass MAR Coated, 2 Sides or
Clear Glass
Features
• TRUESENSE Transparent Gate Electrode
for High Sensitivity
• Ultra-High Resolution
• Board Dynamic Range
• Low Noise Architecture
• Large Active Imaging Area
Applications
• Digitization
• Mapping/Aerial
• Photography
• Scientific
Thx for the tear down Mike, always a joy
Reply
@martinalooksatthings
1 day ago
15:49 that is some great bodging on of caps, they really didn't want to respin that PCB huh
8
Reply
@RhythmGamer
1 day ago
Was depressed today and then a new mike video dropped and now I’m genuinely happy to get my tear down fix
1
Reply
@dine9093
1 day ago (edited)
Did you transfrom into Mr Blobby for a moment there?
2
Reply
@NickNorton
1 day ago
Thanks Mike. Your videos are always interesting.
5
Reply
@KeritechElectronics
1 day ago
Heavy optics indeed... Spare no expense, cost no object. Splendid build quality. The CCD is a thing of beauty!
1
Reply
@YSoreil
1 day ago
The pricing on that sensor is about right, I looked in to these many years ago when they were still in production since it's the only large sensor you could actually buy. Really cool to see one in the wild.
2
Reply
@snik2pl
1 day ago
That leds look like from led projector
Reply
@vincei4252
1 day ago
TDI = Time Domain Integration ?
1
Reply
@wolpumba4099
1 day ago (edited)
Maybe the camera should not be illuminated during readout.
From the datasheet of the sensor (Onsemi): saturation 40300 electrons, read noise 12.5 electrons per pixel @ 18MHz (quite bad). quantum efficiency 62% (if it has micro lenses), frame rate 1 Hz. lateral overflow drain to prevent blooming protects against 800x (factor increases linearly with exposure time) saturation exposure (32e6 electrons per pixel at 4ms exposure time), microlens has +/- 20 degree acceptance angle
i guess it would be good for astrophotography
4
Reply
@txm100
1 day ago (edited)
Babe wake up a new mikeselectricstuff has dropped!
9
Reply
@vincei4252
1 day ago
That looks like a finger-lakes filter wheel, however, for astronomy they'd never use such a large stepper.
1
Reply
@MRooodddvvv
1 day ago
yaaaaay ! more overcomplicated optical stuff !
4
Reply
1 reply
@NoPegs
1 day ago
He lives!
11
Reply
1 reply
Transcript
0:00
so I've stripped all the bits of the
0:01
optical system so basically we've got
0:03
the uh the camera
0:05
itself which is mounted on this uh very
0:09
complex
0:10
adjustment thing which obviously to set
0:13
you the various tilt and uh alignment
0:15
stuff then there's two of these massive
0:18
lenses I've taken one of these apart I
0:20
think there's something like about eight
0:22
or nine Optical elements in here these
0:25
don't seem to do a great deal in terms
0:26
of electr magnification they're obiously
0:28
just about getting the image to where it
0:29
uh where it needs to be just so that
0:33
goes like that then this Optical block I
0:36
originally thought this was made of some
0:37
s crazy heavy material but it's just
0:39
really the sum of all these Optical bits
0:41
are just ridiculously heavy those lenses
0:43
are about 4 kilos each and then there's
0:45
this very heavy very solid um piece that
0:47
goes in the middle and this is so this
0:49
is the filter wheel assembly with a
0:51
hilariously oversized steper
0:53
motor driving this wheel with these very
0:57
large narrow band filters so we've got
1:00
various different shades of uh
1:03
filters there five Al together that
1:06
one's actually just showing up a silver
1:07
that's actually a a red but fairly low
1:10
transmission orangey red blue green
1:15
there's an excess cover on this side so
1:16
the filters can be accessed and changed
1:19
without taking anything else apart even
1:21
this is like ridiculous it's like solid
1:23
aluminium this is just basically a cover
1:25
the actual wavelengths of these are um
1:27
488 525 570 630 and 700 NM not sure what
1:32
the suffix on that perhaps that's the uh
1:34
the width of the spectral line say these
1:37
are very narrow band filters most of
1:39
them are you very little light through
1:41
so it's still very tight narrow band to
1:43
match the um fluoresence of the dies
1:45
they're using in the biochemical process
1:48
and obviously to reject the light that's
1:49
being fired at it from that Illuminator
1:51
box and then there's a there's a second
1:53
one of these lenses then the actual sort
1:55
of samples below that so uh very serious
1:58
amount of very uh chunky heavy Optics
2:01
okay let's take a look at this light
2:02
source made by company Lumen Dynamics
2:04
who are now part of
2:06
excelitas self-contained unit power
2:08
connector USB and this which one of the
2:11
Cable Bundle said was a TTL interface
2:14
USB wasn't used in uh the fluid
2:17
application output here and I think this
2:19
is an input for um light feedback I
2:21
don't if it's regulated or just a measur
2:23
measurement facility and the uh fiber
2:27
assembly
2:29
Square Inlet there and then there's two
2:32
outputs which have uh lens assemblies
2:35
and this small one which goes back into
2:37
that small Port just Loops out of here
2:40
straight back in So on this side we've
2:42
got the electronics which look pretty
2:44
straightforward we've got a bit of power
2:45
supply stuff over here and we've got
2:48
separate drivers for each wavelength now
2:50
interesting this is clearly been very
2:52
specifically made for this application
2:54
you I was half expecting like say some
2:56
generic drivers that could be used for a
2:58
number of different things but actually
3:00
literally specified the exact wavelength
3:02
on the PCB there is provision here for
3:04
385 NM which isn't populated but this is
3:07
clearly been designed very specifically
3:09
so these four drivers look the same but
3:10
then there's two higher power ones for
3:12
575 and
3:14
520 a slightly bigger heat sink on this
3:16
575 section there a p 24 which is
3:20
providing USB interface USB isolator the
3:23
USB interface just presents as a comport
3:26
I did have a quick look but I didn't
3:27
actually get anything sensible um I did
3:29
dump the Pi code out and there's a few
3:31
you a few sort of commands that you
3:32
could see in text but I didn't actually
3:34
manage to get it working properly I
3:36
found some software for related version
3:38
but it didn't seem to want to talk to it
3:39
but um I say that wasn't used for the
3:41
original application it might be quite
3:42
interesting to get try and get the Run
3:44
hours count out of it and the TTL
3:46
interface looks fairly straightforward
3:48
we've got positions for six opto
3:50
isolators but only five five are
3:52
installed so that corresponds with the
3:54
unused thing so I think this hopefully
3:56
should be as simple as just providing a
3:57
ttrl signal for each color to uh enable
4:00
it a big heat sink here which is there I
4:03
think there's like a big S of metal
4:04
plate through the middle of this that
4:05
all the leads are mounted on the other
4:07
side so this is heat sinking it with a
4:09
air flow from a uh just a fan in here
4:13
obviously don't have the air flow
4:14
anywhere near the Optics so conduction
4:17
cool through to this plate that's then
4:18
uh air cooled got some pots which are
4:21
presumably power
4:22
adjustments okay let's take a look at
4:24
the other side which is uh much more
4:27
interesting see we've got some uh very
4:31
uh neatly Twisted cable assemblies there
4:35
a bunch of leads so we've got one here
4:37
475 up here 430 NM 630 575 and 520
4:44
filters and dcro mirrors a quick way to
4:48
see what's white is if we just shine
4:49
some white light through
4:51
here not sure how it is is to see on the
4:54
camera but shining white light we do
4:55
actually get a bit of red a bit of blue
4:57
some yellow here so the obstacle path
5:00
575 it goes sort of here bounces off
5:03
this mirror and goes out the 520 goes
5:07
sort of down here across here and up
5:09
there 630 goes basically straight
5:13
through
5:15
430 goes across there down there along
5:17
there and the 475 goes down here and
5:20
left this is the light sensing thing
5:22
think here there's just a um I think
5:24
there a photo diode or other sensor
5:26
haven't actually taken that off and
5:28
everything's fixed down to this chunk of
5:31
aluminium which acts as the heat
5:32
spreader that then conducts the heat to
5:33
the back side for the heat
5:35
sink and the actual lead packages all
5:38
look fairly similar except for this one
5:41
on the 575 which looks quite a bit more
5:44
substantial big spay
5:46
Terminals and the interface for this
5:48
turned out to be extremely simple it's
5:50
literally a 5V TTL level to enable each
5:54
color doesn't seem to be any tensity
5:56
control but there are some additional
5:58
pins on that connector that weren't used
5:59
in the through time thing so maybe
6:01
there's some extra lines that control
6:02
that I couldn't find any data on this uh
6:05
unit and the um their current product
6:07
range is quite significantly different
6:09
so we've got the uh blue these
6:13
might may well be saturating the camera
6:16
so they might look a bit weird so that's
6:17
the 430
6:18
blue the 575
6:24
yellow uh
6:26
475 light blue
6:29
the uh 520
6:31
green and the uh 630 red now one
6:36
interesting thing I noticed for the
6:39
575 it's actually it's actually using a
6:42
white lead and then filtering it rather
6:44
than using all the other ones are using
6:46
leads which are the fundamental colors
6:47
but uh this is actually doing white and
6:50
it's a combination of this filter and
6:52
the dichroic mirrors that are turning to
6:55
Yellow if we take the filter out and a
6:57
lot of the a lot of the um blue content
7:00
is going this way the red is going
7:02
straight through these two mirrors so
7:05
this is clearly not reflecting much of
7:08
that so we end up with the yellow coming
7:10
out of uh out of there which is a fairly
7:14
light yellow color which you don't
7:16
really see from high intensity leads so
7:19
that's clearly why they've used the
7:20
white to uh do this power consumption of
7:23
the white is pretty high so going up to
7:25
about 2 and 1 half amps on that color
7:27
whereas most of the other colors are
7:28
only drawing half an amp or so at 24
7:30
volts the uh the green is up to about
7:32
1.2 but say this thing is uh much
7:35
brighter and if you actually run all the
7:38
colors at the same time you get a fairly
7:41
reasonable um looking white coming out
7:43
of it and one thing you might just be
7:45
out to notice is there is some sort
7:46
color banding around here that's not
7:49
getting uh everything s completely
7:51
concentric and I think that's where this
7:53
fiber optic thing comes
7:58
in I'll
8:00
get a couple of Fairly accurately shaped
8:04
very sort of uniform color and looking
8:06
at What's um inside here we've basically
8:09
just got this Square Rod so this is
8:12
clearly yeah the lights just bouncing
8:13
off all the all the various sides to um
8:16
get a nice uniform illumination uh this
8:19
back bit looks like it's all potted so
8:21
nothing I really do to get in there I
8:24
think this is fiber so I have come
8:26
across um cables like this which are
8:27
liquid fill but just looking through the
8:30
end of this it's probably a bit hard to
8:31
see it does look like there fiber ends
8:34
going going on there and so there's this
8:36
feedback thing which is just obviously
8:39
compensating for the any light losses
8:41
through here to get an accurate
8:43
representation of uh the light that's
8:45
been launched out of these two
8:47
fibers and you see uh
8:49
these have got this sort of trapezium
8:54
shape light guides again it's like a
8:56
sort of acrylic or glass light guide
9:00
guess projected just to make the right
9:03
rectangular
9:04
shape and look at this Center assembly
9:07
um the light output doesn't uh change
9:10
whether you feed this in or not so it's
9:11
clear not doing any internal Clos Loop
9:14
control obviously there may well be some
9:16
facility for it to do that but it's not
9:17
being used in this
9:19
application and so this output just
9:21
produces a voltage on the uh outle
9:24
connector proportional to the amount of
9:26
light that's present so there's a little
9:28
diffuser in the back there
9:30
and then there's just some kind of uh
9:33
Optical sensor looks like a
9:35
chip looking at the lead it's a very
9:37
small package on the PCB with this lens
9:40
assembly over the top and these look
9:43
like they're actually on a copper
9:44
Metalized PCB for maximum thermal
9:47
performance and yeah it's a very small
9:49
package looks like it's a ceramic
9:51
package and there's a thermister there
9:53
for temperature monitoring this is the
9:56
475 blue one this is the 520 need to
9:59
Green which is uh rather different OB
10:02
it's a much bigger D with lots of bond
10:04
wise but also this looks like it's using
10:05
a phosphor if I shine a blue light at it
10:08
lights up green so this is actually a
10:10
phosphor conversion green lead which
10:12
I've I've come across before they want
10:15
that specific wavelength so they may be
10:17
easier to tune a phosphor than tune the
10:20
um semiconductor material to get the uh
10:23
right right wavelength from the lead
10:24
directly uh red 630 similar size to the
10:28
blue one or does seem to have a uh a
10:31
lens on top of it there is a sort of red
10:33
coloring to
10:35
the die but that doesn't appear to be
10:38
fluorescent as far as I can
10:39
tell and the white one again a little
10:41
bit different sort of much higher
10:43
current
10:46
connectors a makeer name on that
10:48
connector flot light not sure if that's
10:52
the connector or the lead
10:54
itself and obviously with the phosphor
10:56
and I'd imagine that phosphor may well
10:58
be tuned to get the maximum to the uh 5
11:01
cenm and actually this white one looks
11:04
like a St fairly standard product I just
11:06
found it in Mouse made by luminous
11:09
devices in fact actually I think all
11:11
these are based on various luminous
11:13
devices modules and they're you take
11:17
looks like they taking the nearest
11:18
wavelength and then just using these
11:19
filters to clean it up to get a precise
11:22
uh spectral line out of it so quite a
11:25
nice neat and um extreme
11:30
bright light source uh sure I've got any
11:33
particular use for it so I think this
11:35
might end up on
11:36
eBay but uh very pretty to look out and
11:40
without the uh risk of burning your eyes
11:43
out like you do with lasers so I thought
11:45
it would be interesting to try and
11:46
figure out the runtime of this things
11:48
like this we usually keep some sort
11:49
record of runtime cuz leads degrade over
11:51
time I couldn't get any software to work
11:52
through the USB face but then had a
11:54
thought probably going to be writing the
11:55
runtime periodically to the e s prom so
11:58
I just just scope up that and noticed it
12:00
was doing right every 5 minutes so I
12:02
just ran it for a while periodically
12:04
reading the E squ I just held the pick
12:05
in in reset and um put clip over to read
12:07
the square prom and found it was writing
12:10
one location per color every 5 minutes
12:12
so if one color was on it would write
12:14
that location every 5 minutes and just
12:16
increment it by one so after doing a few
12:18
tests with different colors of different
12:19
time periods it looked extremely
12:21
straightforward it's like a four bite
12:22
count for each color looking at the
12:24
original data that was in it all the
12:26
colors apart from Green were reading
12:28
zero and the green was reading four
12:30
indicating a total 20 minutes run time
12:32
ever if it was turned on run for a short
12:34
time then turned off that might not have
12:36
been counted but even so indicates this
12:37
thing wasn't used a great deal the whole
12:40
s process of doing a run can be several
12:42
hours but it'll only be doing probably
12:43
the Imaging at the end of that so you
12:46
wouldn't expect to be running for a long
12:47
time but say a single color for 20
12:50
minutes over its whole lifetime does
12:52
seem a little bit on the low side okay
12:55
let's look at the camera un fortunately
12:57
I managed to not record any sound when I
12:58
did this it's also a couple of months
13:00
ago so there's going to be a few details
13:02
that I've forgotten so I'm just going to
13:04
dub this over the original footage so um
13:07
take the lid off see this massive great
13:10
heat sink so this is a pel cool camera
13:12
we've got this blower fan producing a
13:14
fair amount of air flow through
13:16
it the connector here there's the ccds
13:19
mounted on the board on the
13:24
right this unplugs so we've got a bit of
13:27
power supply stuff on here
13:29
USB interface I think that's the Cyprus
13:32
microcontroller High speeded USB
13:34
interface there's a zyink spon fpga some
13:40
RAM and there's a couple of ATD
13:42
converters can't quite read what those
13:45
those are but anal
13:47
devices um little bit of bodgery around
13:51
here extra decoupling obviously they
13:53
have having some noise issues this is
13:55
around the ram chip quite a lot of extra
13:57
capacitors been added there
13:59
uh there's a couple of amplifiers prior
14:01
to the HD converter buffers or Andor
14:05
amplifiers taking the CCD
14:08
signal um bit more power spy stuff here
14:11
this is probably all to do with
14:12
generating the various CCD bias voltages
14:14
they uh need quite a lot of exotic
14:18
voltages next board down is just a
14:20
shield and an interconnect
14:24
boardly shielding the power supply stuff
14:26
from some the more sensitive an log
14:28
stuff
14:31
and this is the bottom board which is
14:32
just all power supply
14:34
stuff as you can see tons of capacitors
14:37
or Transformer in
14:42
there and this is the CCD which is a uh
14:47
very impressive thing this is a kf50 100
14:50
originally by true sense then codec
14:53
there ON
14:54
Semiconductor it's 50 megapixels uh the
14:58
only price I could find was this one
15:00
5,000 bucks and the architecture you can
15:03
see there actually two separate halves
15:04
which explains the Dual AZ converters
15:06
and two amplifiers it's literally split
15:08
down the middle and duplicated so it's
15:10
outputting two streams in parallel just
15:13
to keep the bandwidth sensible and it's
15:15
got this amazing um diffraction effects
15:18
it's got micro lenses over the pixel so
15:20
there's there's a bit more Optics going
15:22
on than on a normal
15:25
sensor few more bodges on the CCD board
15:28
including this wire which isn't really
15:29
tacked down very well which is a bit uh
15:32
bit of a mess quite a few bits around
15:34
this board where they've uh tacked
15:36
various bits on which is not super
15:38
impressive looks like CCD drivers on the
15:40
left with those 3 ohm um damping
15:43
resistors on the
15:47
output get a few more little bodges
15:50
around here some of
15:52
the and there's this separator the
15:54
silica gel to keep the moisture down but
15:56
there's this separator that actually
15:58
appears to be cut from piece of
15:59
antistatic
16:04
bag and this sort of thermal block on
16:06
top of this stack of three pel Cola
16:12
modules so as with any Stacks they get
16:16
um larger as they go back towards the
16:18
heat sink because each P's got to not
16:20
only take the heat from the previous but
16:21
also the waste heat which is quite
16:27
significant you see a little temperature
16:29
sensor here that copper block which
16:32
makes contact with the back of the
16:37
CCD and this's the back of the
16:40
pelas this then contacts the heat sink
16:44
on the uh rear there a few thermal pads
16:46
as well for some of the other power
16:47
components on this
16:51
PCB okay I've connected this uh camera
16:54
up I found some drivers on the disc that
16:56
seem to work under Windows 7 couldn't
16:58
get to install under Windows 11 though
17:01
um in the absence of any sort of lens or
17:03
being bothered to the proper amount I've
17:04
just put some f over it and put a little
17:06
pin in there to make a pinhole lens and
17:08
software gives a few options I'm not
17:11
entirely sure what all these are there's
17:12
obviously a clock frequency 22 MHz low
17:15
gain and with PFG no idea what that is
17:19
something something game programmable
17:20
Something game perhaps ver exposure
17:23
types I think focus is just like a
17:25
continuous grab until you tell it to
17:27
stop not entirely sure all these options
17:30
are obviously exposure time uh triggers
17:33
there ex external hardware trigger inut
17:35
you just trigger using a um thing on
17:37
screen so the resolution is 8176 by
17:40
6132 and you can actually bin those
17:42
where you combine multiple pixels to get
17:46
increased gain at the expense of lower
17:48
resolution down this is a 10sec exposure
17:51
obviously of the pin hole it's very uh
17:53
intensitive so we just stand still now
17:56
downloading it there's the uh exposure
17:59
so when it's
18:01
um there's a little status thing down
18:03
here so that tells you the um exposure
18:07
[Applause]
18:09
time it's this is just it
18:15
downloading um it is quite I'm seeing
18:18
quite a lot like smearing I think that I
18:20
don't know whether that's just due to
18:21
pixels overloading or something else I
18:24
mean yeah it's not it's not um out of
18:26
the question that there's something not
18:27
totally right about this camera
18:28
certainly was bodge wise on there um I
18:31
don't I'd imagine a camera like this
18:32
it's got a fairly narrow range of
18:34
intensities that it's happy with I'm not
18:36
going to spend a great deal of time on
18:38
this if you're interested in this camera
18:40
maybe for astronomy or something and
18:42
happy to sort of take the risk of it may
18:44
not be uh perfect I'll um I think I'll
18:47
stick this on eBay along with the
18:48
Illuminator I'll put a link down in the
18:50
description to the listing take your
18:52
chances to grab a bargain so for example
18:54
here we see this vertical streaking so
18:56
I'm not sure how normal that is this is
18:58
on fairly bright scene looking out the
19:02
window if I cut the exposure time down
19:04
on that it's now 1 second
19:07
exposure again most of the image
19:09
disappears again this is looks like it's
19:11
possibly over still overloading here go
19:14
that go down to say say quarter a
19:16
second so again I think there might be
19:19
some Auto gain control going on here um
19:21
this is with the PFG option let's try
19:23
turning that off and see what
19:25
happens so I'm not sure this is actually
19:27
more streaking or which just it's
19:29
cranked up the gain all the dis display
19:31
gray scale to show what um you know the
19:33
range of things that it's captured
19:36
there's one of one of 12 things in the
19:38
software there's um you can see of you
19:40
can't seem to read out the temperature
19:42
of the pelta cooler but you can set the
19:44
temperature and if you said it's a
19:46
different temperature you see the power
19:48
consumption jump up running the cooler
19:50
to get the temperature you requested but
19:52
I can't see anything anywhere that tells
19:54
you whether the cool is at the at the
19:56
temperature other than the power
19:57
consumption going down and there's no
19:59
temperature read out
20:03
here and just some yeah this is just
20:05
sort of very basic software I'm sure
20:07
there's like an API for more
20:09
sophisticated
20:10
applications but so if you know anything
20:12
more about these cameras please um stick
20:14
in the
20:15
comments um incidentally when I was
20:18
editing I didn't notice there was a bent
20:19
pin on the um CCD but I did fix that
20:22
before doing these tests and also
20:24
reactivated the um silica gel desicant
20:26
cuz I noticed it was uh I was getting
20:28
bit of condensation on the window but um
20:31
yeah so a couple of uh interesting but
20:34
maybe not particularly uh useful pieces
20:37
of Kit except for someone that's got a
20:38
very specific use so um I'll stick a
20:42
I'll stick these on eBay put a link in
20:44
the description and say hopefully
20:45
someone could actually make some uh good
20:47
use of these things
Example Output:
**Abstract:**
This video presents Part 2 of a teardown focusing on the optical components of a Fluidigm Polaris biotechnology instrument, specifically the multi-wavelength illuminator and the high-resolution CCD camera.
The Lumen Dynamics illuminator unit is examined in detail, revealing its construction using multiple high-power LEDs (430nm, 475nm, 520nm, 575nm, 630nm) combined via dichroic mirrors and filters. A square fiber optic rod is used to homogenize the light. A notable finding is the use of a phosphor-converted white LED filtered to achieve the 575nm output. The unit features simple TTL activation for each color, conduction cooling, and internal homogenization optics. Analysis of its EEPROM suggests extremely low operational runtime.
The camera module teardown showcases a 50 Megapixel ON Semiconductor KAF-50100 CCD sensor with micro-lenses, cooled by a multi-stage Peltier stack. The control electronics include an FPGA and a USB interface. Significant post-manufacturing modifications ("bodges") are observed on the camera's circuit boards. Basic functional testing using vendor software and a pinhole lens confirms image capture but reveals prominent vertical streaking artifacts, the cause of which remains uncertain (potential overload, readout artifact, or fault).
**Exploring the Fluidigm Polaris: A Detailed Look at its High-End Optics and Camera System**
* **0:00 High-End Optics:** The system utilizes heavy, high-quality lenses and mirrors for precise imaging, weighing around 4 kilos each.
* **0:49 Narrow Band Filters:** A filter wheel with five narrow band filters (488, 525, 570, 630, and 700 nm) ensures accurate fluorescence detection and rejection of excitation light.
* **2:01 Customizable Illumination:** The Lumen Dynamics light source offers five individually controllable LED wavelengths (430, 475, 520, 575, 630 nm) with varying power outputs. The 575nm yellow LED is uniquely achieved using a white LED with filtering.
* **3:45 TTL Control:** The light source is controlled via a simple TTL interface, enabling easy on/off switching for each LED color.
* **12:55 Sophisticated Camera:** The system includes a 50-megapixel Kodak KAI-50100 CCD camera with a Peltier cooling system for reduced noise.
* **14:54 High-Speed Data Transfer:** The camera features dual analog-to-digital converters to manage the high data throughput of the 50-megapixel sensor, which is effectively two 25-megapixel sensors operating in parallel.
* **18:11 Possible Issues:** The video creator noted some potential issues with the camera, including image smearing.
* **18:11 Limited Dynamic Range:** The camera's sensor has a limited dynamic range, making it potentially challenging to capture scenes with a wide range of brightness levels.
* **11:45 Low Runtime:** Internal data suggests the system has seen minimal usage, with only 20 minutes of recorded runtime for the green LED.
* **20:38 Availability on eBay:** Both the illuminator and camera are expected to be listed for sale on eBay.
Here is the real transcript. What would be a good group of people to review this topic? Please summarize provide a summary like they would:
SpaceX's Military Project It Doesn't Want You to Know About - Starshield
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SpaceX's satellite network is quietly taking over the skies above us, but Elon Musk's space empire extends far beyond providing internet to the world. Behind the public Starlink project lies Starshield - a secretive military operation with classified satellites so mysterious that neither SpaceX nor the government will acknowledge their existence. Join us as we investigate the hidden truths about this covert space program and what it could mean for the future of orbital control.
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References:
“Low Earth orbit: Definition, theory and facts”, via space.com https://astrumspace.info/lowearthorbit
“Starlink”, via starlink.com https://astrumspace.info/starlinkinfo
“Starshield”, via spacex.com https://astrumspace.info/starshield
“Starlink is transforming Pacific internet access – but in some countries it’s still illegal”, via theconversation.com https://astrumspace.info/starlinkinte...
“Starshield Satellite: A New Breakthrough in Technology”, via mcieast.marines.mil https://astrumspace.info/starshieldma...
“Musk's satellites 'blocking' view of the universe”, via bbc.co.uk https://astrumspace.info/satelliteblo...
“SpaceX Quietly Changed its Approach to Space Safety”, via linkedin.com https://astrumspace.info/spacesafety
“Defense Intelligence Agency assesses Russia’s counterspace developments and weapons of mass destruction capabilities”, via defence-industry.eu https://astrumspace.info/counterspace
“Space debris is falling from the skies. We need to tackle this growing danger”, via nature.com https://astrumspace.info/spacejunk
“Potential Ozone Depletion From Satellite Demise During
Atmospheric Reentry in the Era of Mega‐Constellations”, via wiley.com https://astrumspace.info/ozonedepletion
▀▀▀▀▀▀
Credits:
Writers: Nigel Code, Edie Abrahams
Video Editor: Nick Shishkin
Researcher: Edie Abrahams
Script Editor: Damaris McColgan
Thumbnail Designer: Peter Sheppard
Channel Manager: Georgina Brenner
Executive Producer: Raquel Taylor
Creator of Astrum: Alex McColgan
With special thanks to:
NASA/ESO/ESA
#astrum #space #starshield #starlink
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Pinned by @astrumspace
@astrumspace
7 months ago
Try Rocket Money for free: https://RocketMoney.com/astrum
68
Reply
16 replies
@entropybear5847
7 months ago
'National security' used to mean protecting the nation. Now it means "we're doing things you wont like and aren't for your benefit".
899
Reply
59 replies
@Mefodon
7 months ago
Too bad the name Skynet wasn't available anymore...
500
Reply
25 replies
@PaulOJazzMusic
7 months ago (edited)
I remember an episode of Cowboy Bebop where the space junk is so overwhelming that you see "meteorites" constantly in broad daylight as defunct space materials re-enter the atmosphere
529
Reply
17 replies
@johnsmith-hs1we
7 months ago
This is John Connor. If you are reading this, you are the resistance!
662
Reply
35 replies
@BobB-w4q
6 months ago (edited)
Please remember everyone that if you are in any developed nation, the ability to monitor you makes anything envisioned in George Orwell's 1984 pale in comparison.
66
Reply
7 replies
@fountedakis
7 months ago
It's a private endeavour to trash the sky but it will be a public effort to clean it up. As always with these guys
1.6K
Reply
82 replies
@stevenjames5874
7 months ago
'Physicist' here - at around 17:00 Astrum mentions that spacejunk is moving ~5x faster than a bullet. The relation he's using is "0.5 * mass * velocity [SQUARED]" - meaning, if it moves 5x faster, it has 25 times the energy of a bullet.
208
Reply
15 replies
@GibbonsTake
7 months ago
Hear about starlink on a daily basis but have never heard of starshield
26
Reply
@MorbiuslyObese
6 months ago
A few months ago I went on a sailing trip to Hateras island in NC with my class. Every night (sometimes multiple a night) there were Starlinks being launched!
23
Reply
@SeanStein_
7 months ago
At 19:18 I've felt like being briefed on Yavin IV for the upcoming events on the Death Star
9
Reply
1 reply
@Yehan-xt7cw
7 months ago
"even Antarctica is likely to be connected in thew future..."
Starlink is already working in (parts of) Antarctica.
A camp at Union Glacier already used starlink 6 months ago.
62
Reply
@barefoot-earth
7 months ago
To anyone who doesn't want to watch the video because of the click-bait title, it is a video that is very much worth watching. The "trapping us on earth" is only a tiny bit. The video is about satellites and possible problems with so many in low earth orbit (and not just Musk's satellites). I absolutely do not regret watching it.
632
Reply
61 replies
@thepropcollet
7 months ago
Was standing outside at sunset the other night. Looked up and "hey a satellite." A few seconds later another right behind it. Then another, and another. A line of sats that didn't stop until the sky was completely dark. As a kid seeing an "Iridium flare" was rare (and interesting). Not anymore.
267
Reply
18 replies
@melisavierra7812
7 months ago
My grandmother was right: follow the money.
Thank you for sharing this critical information!
13
Reply
1 reply
@apocalypsator6
5 months ago
Microphones in the gadgets, cameras everywhere. The observer effect is crushing everything.
16
Reply
2 replies
@newshodgepodge6329
7 months ago
Wasn't there already at least one game of space chicken, where one company refused to move its satellite out of the established orbit of another company's satellite to avoid a collision?
59
Reply
4 replies
@BrickCityCitizen
7 months ago
The amateur astronomy of the future would be to take a space ship to the moon before it also gets filled up with satellites.
61
Reply
4 replies
@SESReb
7 months ago
Cant wait for space to be turned into a giant blender.
47
Reply
5 replies
@keesverhagen9931
7 months ago
It is all about for after everyone has get the CHIP. There will be no mm2 on earth that can not be svanned. So you can not escape. Also for creating the so needed bandwidt for the controll of every digital transaction in the near future. That is also why Elon was allowed to buy Twitter. There will be different Antichrists. Without being connected / receiving the Mark you will not be able to buy or sell. People who still will not see this happening are not very bright.
1
Reply
Transcript
0:00
The sky above us is becoming a crowded place. On the very fringes of our
0:05
atmosphere, satellites are helping us to communicate, find our way around, making
0:11
our modern, busy lives possible. They are also watching us, allowing nations
0:16
to spy on nations, and providing the communications that are necessary for modern warfare. At the time of making
0:23
this video, there are about 12,000 satellites in Earth's orbit around our
0:29
planet. More than 7,000 of these are part of the Starlink mega constellation,
0:35
a mission by Elon Musk's SpaceX program to surround Earth with an interconnected
0:41
web of satellites. And this is merely the beginning. The Starlink fleet is set
0:48
to grow with thousands more satellites to be launched, perhaps as many as
0:53
42,000. These units aim to bring internet connection to the furthest regions of
1:00
the globe, from the most barren Arctic tundra to towering mountain peaks,
1:06
persisting in all weathers and when all other communication systems fail. But
1:11
Starlink is not the only satellite venture from SpaceX. Less known is their
1:17
military project codenamed Star Shield, which aims to build a satellite
1:23
constellation with the support of a $1.8 billion contract with the US Department
1:29
of Defense. Despite the glossy and marketable name, Star Shield is shrouded
1:35
in secrecy. It's designed for government use to support national security, but
1:40
how and at what cost?
1:47
I'm Alex Mccoan and you're watching Astramm. Join me in our skies today as
1:52
we attempt to decode the corporate speak of the Space X Star Shield operation and
1:57
what it means for our security, privacy, and everyday lives. We'll explore what
2:04
Star Shield actually is and how it links to SpaceX's more commercial satellite
2:09
project, the Starlink Mega Constellation. As satellite populations continue to
2:15
boom, we'll explore the background that is our new age space race. How the
2:21
players have changed and who is really in charge of this final frontier.
2:31
Before we march into the atmospheric battlefield, let's take a closer look at a more familyfriendly SpaceX satellite
2:39
project, Starink. First announced in 2015, Starlink was
2:44
designed for the purpose of rebuilding the internet in space and aimed to place 4,000 satellites in low Earth orbit. Low
2:52
Earth orbit is standard for most satellites, even the International Space Station, and can be anywhere between 160
3:01
and 2,000 km above Earth's surface. The goal of this system is connectivity
3:07
where you least expect it. You need only plug the system in and point it at the
3:12
sky with their antenna to get online. Besides digital gameplay in the mountains or taking a work call on the
3:19
beach, the idea of worldwide internet connection actually has the potential for some really positive social change.
3:26
Schools in remote areas of Fiji and the Solomon Islands have employed the use of Starink to access digital teaching
3:32
resources, which is making education more accessible for all. The Starling fleet can be used to aid communications
3:39
in the event of natural disasters as it's less vulnerable than standard undersea cables. This came to light in
3:46
2024 when a 7.3 magnitude earthquake in Vanuatu took out the country's only
3:52
undersea cable. Starlink was quickly able to deploy 300 satellites which restored connection for emergency
3:59
services and aided the national recovery operation. These success stories have
4:04
contributed to Starink's popularity surge and the service now has over 5.4
4:09
million subscribers across the globe with an estimated revenue exceeding $3.2
4:15
billion US. These are all great selling points, but what about the satellites themselves?
4:22
How do they actually work? Well, the latest Starlink satellites are not small. They are 30 m long and weigh as
4:30
much as a small car, orbiting merely 550 km above the Earth's surface. They are
4:36
launched in a stack, as many as 60 at a time on Space X's own Falcon 9 vehicles,
4:42
reusable two-stage rockets that have already completed nearly 500 missions.
4:47
When deployed, the satellites use navigation sensors to survey the stars and position themselves incredibly
4:54
accurately. Each unit contains three space lasers which help it communicate
4:59
with other units to form a global internet mesh. They each also have eight
5:05
antennas to connect with receivers on the Earth's surface and they can adjust their position with ion propulsion
5:11
systems that use argon for precise maneuverability. As I mentioned before, there are now
5:18
over 7,000 Starling satellites currently in orbit, and this number is expected to
5:23
grow. As you can see from this availability map, the fleet already covers much of the Western Hemisphere,
5:30
encompassing around 2.7 billion people. But SpaceX wants more, and several other
5:36
countries in Africa, Southeast Asia, and even Antarctica are likely to be connected in the near future. It's quite
5:44
the satellite empire.
5:50
There may not be loads of information about Starlink, but there's far less
5:56
about Star Shield, SpaceX's other venture into the world of satellites. It
6:02
can be said that Star Shield is like Starlink's darker military cousin, and
6:07
there are plenty of reasons why. like Starlink is composed of low Earth orbiting satellites, but this time they
6:15
serve the sole purpose of defense and are wholly owned and controlled by the
6:20
US government following the $1.8 billion contribution to the project by the National Reconnaissance Office in 2021.
6:28
They have enhanced encryption and other security features for secure data processing and employ a modular design.
6:37
This means that the satellites can integrate a wide variety of payloads. Be it for communication, earth observation,
6:45
target tracking, early missile warning and so on. Governments can mix and match, designing
6:52
a Star Shield satellite that best fits their specific requirements and defense objectives. The exact details of how
7:00
Star Shield has been used are pretty vague, but there's no doubt that it is in use. The US Marines have pounced on
7:08
the new tech, implementing units across its second marine division for both basic communications and more
7:14
specialized tasks like targeting and fires. On their website, Major Tim Ren
7:20
from the second division praised the satellites for their ability to maintain services during a service level training
7:26
event despite poor weather conditions and power outages which knocked out other satellite transmissions.
7:33
Likewise, in 2023, SpaceX won a one-year contract with the United States Space
7:40
Force worth $70 million. And there has been recent speculation that Space Force
7:45
may continue to use SpaceX satellites rather than front the cost of building their own. The project is rapidly
7:53
gaining attention from clients of the highest office and shows no signs of
7:58
slowing down anytime soon. But how similar is Star Shield to
8:04
Starlink? An important point to mention is that both Starlink and Star Shield
8:10
can use the same interatellite laser communication terminals which use laser
8:16
beams to form high-speed data links between satellites instead of traditional radio signals. SpaceX boasts
8:24
the only communications laser operating at scale in orbit today, which basically
8:30
means there is much less chance of other satellites, privately owned or
8:35
otherwise, interfering with Star Shield's data. This would obviously be
8:40
appealing from a defense perspective, and clients can be fairly confident that it works since SpaceX has been using
8:47
this technology at scale for as long as Starlink has been running. In many ways,
8:52
Starlink is like the portfolio SpaceX has brought along to its interviews for
8:57
Star Shield, and this has proven to be a pretty effective sales technique. It's
9:03
clear from the marketing of both products, the Starink is meant to be a public consumer service, while Star
9:09
Shield is used for national defense. But with such similar technology, is there
9:15
ever any crossover? Indeed, the line between Starlink and Star Shield is
9:21
blurred when you consider recent and ongoing conflicts across the globe. This
9:27
year, Musk has taken to X, formerly Twitter, to state that his Starlink
9:32
system is the backbone of the Ukrainian army and that their entire front line would collapse if he turned the system
9:39
off. And he has even done so momentarily on occasions.
9:46
Starlink is used by the Ukrainian military for internet connection in remote war zones and the Polish
9:52
digitization ministry pays an estimated $50 million a year for the privilege. So
9:58
Starlink is being used for defense purposes and could easily be on par with
10:04
Star Shield as a military asset. It may only be providing internet connection,
10:09
but it's what can be done with the internet that turns it into a weapon. And to simply turn it off would change
10:16
the tide on this conflict within a matter of hours. That's an awful lot of
10:21
responsibility for whoever's running these satellites, perhaps more than anyone could have envisioned when
10:27
Starlink was first proposed. In a different conflict nearly 2,000 km
10:33
away, Starink was allowed to start operating in a single hospital in Gaza last year as an exception to the
10:39
internet blackout Israel had imposed across the region following months of negotiations. This has enabled vital
10:46
communications between humanitarian aid workers in this region. Though Israel is still reluctant to allow more coverage
10:53
for fear that it could be used against them in the war. These are all sensitive
10:58
and politically charged issues, and some fear that SpaceX's involvement will make them all the more difficult to resolve.
11:06
Essentially, this technology has given private companies like SpaceX a seat at the table for military debates that they
11:13
would never have been privy to without it. For those involved in conflict,
11:18
having to depend on a private company rather than a humanitarian NGO or an
11:24
elected government official for services that could determine their fate in that conflict is risky. And yet, it's often
11:32
an inevitable choice in the landscape of modern warfare. Without this technology, they face the likelihood that it will be
11:38
used against them with disastrous consequences. Perhaps Star Shield is SpaceX's way of
11:45
disentangling Starink from military uses, but this separation won't happen overnight, especially whilst these
11:51
conflicts continue. And even if pieces won, there are logistical issues to sort
11:57
out with both projects. As I mentioned, Starlink and Star Shield use the same
12:02
communication terminals and laser beam data links, which could make it harder for them to function independently of
12:08
one another. But as long as they remain linked, we can expect things to get messy, especially if the same satellites
12:16
can be seen as both a valid military target and a vital service for citizens.
12:22
But putting conflict aside, are there other consequences of our increasing use
12:27
of satellites? How could they impact our skies and our dreams of exploring them in the future?
12:34
Countries who want to avoid subscribing to Starink are left with little choice but to launch their own satellite
12:40
constellation. A task involving a lot of costly rocket launches. They'll have to
12:45
keep a careful eye on their budget. But maybe a rocket can help with that, too.
12:50
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description below to get started for free. But Starlink isn't just a problem due to
13:31
its cost, its ethics, or its insecurity.
13:38
In addition to questions about how these satellites will play into current and future conflicts, there are concerns
13:44
about how much this hardware is now filling up the sky. Astronomers already complain about the amount of light
13:50
pollution that is reflected by so many satellites and the emissions that leak from Starling satellites can blind radio
13:56
telescopes on Earth. A study published 2 years ago in astronomy and astrophysics
14:01
investigated these emissions and found that the radiation leaks exceed regulations set by the International
14:08
Telecommunications Union and that the interference from the second generation of Starling satellites was 32 times
14:14
stronger than the first generation. Since this study was published, many more such satellites have been deployed
14:22
and SpaceX has not yet finished building its mega constellations. China is also entering the space race
14:29
with their G Wang low Earth orbit communication satellites in a project that looks remarkably similar to
14:35
Starink. They plan to send up a further 13,000 units, which will add to this
14:42
growing congestion. It's not just a problem for astronomers. It is already a problem for the
14:47
operators of the satellites themselves. Earlier I mentioned that staling satellites are able to adjust their
14:53
positions using their ion propulsion systems. Well, there is a very good reason for them being able to do that.
15:00
In the year ending November 2024, the Starling constellation made 100,50
15:07
adjustments to avoid collisions with debris and other objects. That is one
15:12
movement every 5 minutes. Estimates vary, but there are plans for perhaps
15:17
four or five times as many satellites in low Earth orbit than are up there at present. In addition to SpaceX and the
15:25
Chinese government, companies such as Amazon and One Webb have plans for their own mega constellations. Not only will
15:32
all these units have to avoid each other, but getting them up into orbit will add to the amount of unwanted and
15:38
unplanned objects that they will have to avoid, namely what you call space junk.
15:45
Every launch generates debris, a type of space pollution, from parts of launch
15:50
vehicles to entire rocket bodies. As far back as 1978, NASA scientist Don
15:57
Kesler predicted that within 30 or 40 years, there would be so much debris in low Earth orbit that collisions would
16:04
become inevitable. His predictions have so far come true. We know of more than
16:09
25,000 objects larger than 10 cm up there, such as from fragments of
16:15
destroyed equipment or even entire derelic spacecraft and launch vehicles.
16:20
These are the easier objects to detect and avoid. There are also estimated to
16:25
be over 1 million smaller fragments from 1 cm to 10 cm littering the outer
16:32
reaches of our atmosphere. This doesn't sound like much of a problem until you consider that these miniature missiles
16:39
move at speeds of more than 25,000 kmh.
16:44
If you remember the principles of physics from school, you'll know that the energy given off in any collision is
16:50
a function of mass and velocity. A bullet dropped into your hand, for instance, feels like nothing at all.
16:56
Fire the same bullet from a rifle, and it can punch a hole through a steel sheet. These pieces of debris are
17:04
traveling at more than five times the speed of a bullet fired from a rifle. As more objects crowd into low Earth orbit,
17:11
some people believe it inevitable that one of these collisions will result in damage that sends even more debris
17:18
traveling at incredibly high speeds into the path of other satellites, resulting in more and more collisions and more
17:24
debris. This chain reaction is what we call Kesler syndrome, and you can learn
17:29
more about it on Astramm in our video dedicated to this topic. If Kesler syndrome does become a
17:37
reality, it could wipe out every communication satellite and piece of hardware currently in low Earth orbit
17:44
above us, including, for example, the International Space Station and the Hubble telescope. It would leave such a
17:51
vast amount of shrapnel forming a layer around our planet that it would be almost impossible to launch anything
17:58
into space anymore. We would face the danger of becoming prisoners on our
18:03
planet, trapped by a dangerous layer of our own rubbish that could take years,
18:08
decades, or even centuries to clear away. Now, that is quite the doomsday scenario
18:15
and definitely not one for the claustrophobic. But is the situation really that serious? As the combined
18:22
Starlink and Star Shield network continues to grow, will it inevitably bring about its own destruction? Well,
18:30
as long as the satellite population continues to expand, the probability of collision will increase. This
18:37
probability is how Starling satellites decide whether or not to adjust their positions in the sky. As they are
18:43
programmed with a specific limit for the odds of collision and move as soon as that limit is passed. So, it's not that
18:50
they know that a collision is imminent. They just move as a precaution to be on the safe side. The odds of collision
18:56
that is widely accepted by NASA and others is 1 in 10,000. But in 2024,
19:03
SpaceX quietly changed Starlink's limit to 1 in 1 million. That seems extra
19:09
cautious. 100 times more cautious to be exact. So, SpaceX must have a reason to
19:15
be playing it so safe. With a change like this, Starling satellites have to undertake movements to adjust not every
19:22
5 minutes, but every 30 seconds or so. With so much extra movement from so many
19:29
different companies satellites, it becomes incredibly difficult for anybody to keep track of where all these
19:35
satellites are supposed to be. And a serious collision does actually become much more likely. Satellites won't just
19:42
be adjusting as a precaution. they'll have to do so or face destruction.
19:52
A collision between satellites themselves could potentially kickstart Kesler syndrome, but that's not the only
19:57
way it could happen. Instead, the collision could come not from another satellite, but from a weapon designed to
20:05
target it. Welcome to the world of counterpace. We haven't mentioned Russia yet, which
20:12
may seem surprising because they sent the very first functioning satellite into space called Sputnik 1 in 1957.
20:20
But despite this early advantage, Russia does not really have much stake in the satellite space race. Back in 2023, they
20:28
had a total of 220 satellites in orbit, which was only about 2.5% of the global
20:36
satellite population at the time. This is due to a lack of manufacturing power in Russia for satellites. In fact, they
20:43
are only capable of building about 40 per year, which is dwarfed by the output
20:48
from companies like SpaceX. So perhaps it was this struggle to make a satellite
20:54
mega constellation that prompted Russia to look into other ways of exerting power on the world stage.
21:01
In February 2024, the White House confirmed it had evidence to suggest
21:06
that Russia was developing an anti-satellite nuclear weapon. It's important to note that no nuclear
21:13
weapons like this have actually been deployed yet and the public details of Russia's progress have been vague, but
21:20
Russia did veto a suggestion to reaffirm the now 58-year-old prohibition on
21:26
putting nuclear weapons in space originally made by the outer space treaty. And even if nuclear anti-sat
21:34
weapons are still a way off, Russia is also developing non-nuclear weapons such
21:40
as lasers, ground launched missiles, and electronic warfare systems to target
21:46
satellites. On the 15th of November 2021, Russia
21:51
tested a direct ascent anti-satellite missile called A235
21:57
Nudol, which successfully destroyed Cosmos 1408,
22:02
one of their own obsolete satellites. This littered low Earth orbit with the
22:08
resulting debris and set off alarm bells at the Petersonen Space Force Base in Colorado, USA. Resulting from the test,
22:16
more than 1,500 trackable pieces of debris were identified with the potential to
22:23
generate hundreds of thousands more smaller pieces as they continue their orbital path around the planet. This has
22:30
been condemned by the US Army as a deliberate disregard for the security, safety, stability, and long-term
22:38
sustainability of the space domain for all nations. The fallout from this single test will pose a threat to
22:44
activities in outer space for years to come and will make collision avoidance even trickier for satellites trying to
22:51
maintain mega constellations like Starlink and Star Shield. So Kesler was
22:57
not shooting for the moon with his theory. And as we've seen, there are plenty of ways for it to come true.
23:04
Whether it's a collision between satellites that got their calculations wrong or an intentional attack from a
23:09
hostile nation, the resulting debris could be enough to kickstart a chain reaction of destruction. And things
23:16
won't be looking good for our future missions to explore space.
23:25
There is another aspect of this story that we haven't considered yet. If this
23:30
proliferation of orbiting electronics does manage to continue without triggering its own destruction, either
23:37
accidental or deliberate, what happens to all this equipment when it reaches the end of its life? Right now, for the
23:43
military star shield hardware to function, it needs the Starlink network across the globe. These satellites have
23:50
a life of four to 5 years. And as we've seen, they cannot simply be left to add
23:56
to the congestion and become more space junk when they are no longer of use. As
24:01
the old saying goes, what comes up must come down.
24:07
SpaceX states on its website that its satellites are demisable, meaning that they fully break up and burn up during
24:14
atmospheric re-entry. And if any fragments were to escape this fate, SpaceX assures that they would have
24:21
negligible impact energy. This is somewhat reassuring, but SpaceX can't
24:27
possibly promise 100% demisability for all of its satellites across every
24:32
situation for as long as Starlink and Star Shield continue. Nor can any
24:38
satellite operator for that matter. And sadly, after conducting some research into this, some scientists have noted
24:45
that this impact energy may not be as negligible as we thought. This year, an
24:52
article was published in Nature revealing that many companies do not have clear plans for removing old
24:57
satellites from orbit and that it can be very difficult to predict where they will land. The article detailed two
25:05
events in the past couple of years where large pieces of space junk had landed in
25:11
Kenya and Uganda at the speed of a small missile which scattered wreckage up to
25:16
40 km without warning. With more uncontrolled satellite
25:22
re-entries like this, any location on Earth could be in a firing line and even
25:28
commercial airplanes are put at risk. What's more, many operators leave their
25:33
space junk to decay naturally wherever it does land, which is a near impossible
25:39
task for materials built to withstand the extremes of space flight. This
25:44
proves that there is at least some risk from satellite re-entry, both for people
25:50
and the environment, and that affected areas are often given little to no
25:55
warning when things do go wrong. And even if the satellites do burn up during
26:01
re-entry, as they're supposed to, this can cause damage of its own. The part of
26:06
our planet's atmosphere where this burning takes place is home to the notoriously fragile ozone layer. When
26:13
these satellites, which are largely made of aluminium, burn up in the atmosphere,
26:18
they produce nano particles of aluminium oxides, which are known to accelerate
26:23
ozone depletion. A study published in 2024 sought to investigate this impact
26:29
and found that the demise of a typical 250 kg satellite can generate around 30
26:36
kg of aluminium oxide nano particles. And bear in mind the V2 Starling
26:42
satellites weigh around 800 kg. Once produced, these nanop particles can
26:48
remain in the atmosphere for decades, leading to a significant risk of ozone
26:54
depletion. So even the safe demise of these satellites can have some major
26:59
environmental impacts. We've made some huge efforts towards protecting our ozone layer following the ban on
27:06
chlorofluocarbons or CFC's back in 1979. It would be a shame to see that effort
27:13
go to waste because of some improper satellite disposal. All in all, it's clear that there are
27:20
some major concerns arising from our modern-day satellite use. These issues go beyond just Starlink and Star Shield.
27:28
But as a key player in this new space race, SpaceX will have a big role to play in deciding how to tackle them.
27:35
Given the risks, we need decisive action so that space can remain a viable domain
27:41
for us to explore whilst hopefully maintaining the benefits that satellites can provide.
27:52
When we began research for this video, we merely thought it would be interesting to find out more about the
27:58
Star Shield project. Military innovation in science and technology has helped to create many of the things we take for
28:04
granted in our daily lives. From microwave ovens to duct tape and we are
28:10
interested in all things space. Details on the inner workings of Star Shield and Starink have been hard to come by which
28:17
is understandable since these satellites are currently playing an active role in several major conflicts around the
28:24
globe. But it's no less important for us to know how this technology is being used and how it can play into our
28:32
futures. Satellite production has become his own space race for the 21st century
28:37
and for a whole host of players are trying to get a piece of the pie. The benefits can be huge for the economy,
28:45
education, disaster recovery, social equality, and more. But given the
28:51
growing influence of those wielding the control, it's worth carefully considering how their role will change
28:58
as the line between corporate leadership and political influence continues to blur. Politics aside, satellites are
29:07
shaping our planet's orbital zone, which itself is a finite resource. In our
29:13
planet's low orbital zone, space is indeed limited, and without careful planning, we may reach a point where
29:20
satellites are the only thing we ever launch into orbit again. My goal with Astramm has always been to make space
29:27
accessible to everyone with these videos sharing the wonders of our universe and beyond. I'm just hoping that with these
29:34
warnings in mind, SpaceX and other satellite operators will be able to achieve their goals whilst ensuring that
29:42
the skies remain accessible for the generations to come. After all, what is
29:48
space without room for our ambition to explore and understand it? So, thank you
29:55
for watching and see you next time. [Music]
30:01
Thanks for watching and thanks to our crew of astronauts over at Patreon who help us make science knowledge freely
30:08
available to everyone. Chasing the algorithm can be hit and miss sometimes, so your contributions help us keep
30:15
making the content we love. And if you want to join the Patreon, there's never been a better time to get in on the
30:21
party. Just sign up with the link in the description. When you join, you'll be able to watch the whole video ad free,
30:28
see your name in the credits, and submit questions to our team. Meanwhile, click
30:33
the link to this playlist for more Astramm content. I'll see you next time.