SpaceX's 110th Starlink Flight: Are We *Really* Impressed Anymore?
Oh, look, another SpaceX launch. Yawn. I mean, seriously, is anyone still losing their minds over these things? It's like watching the same episode of a reality show for the 110th time this year. Yeah, the Falcon 9 took off from Vandenberg, deployed 28 more Starlink satellites, and the booster landed on the drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You."
Big deal.
The "Innovation" of Repetition
SpaceX announced they now have 8 million customers for Starlink. Eight million people who are apparently cool with contributing to light pollution and cluttering up low-Earth orbit. Don't get me wrong, internet access is a necessity, but at what cost?
They're spinning this as some kind of revolutionary advancement, bringing broadband to the masses. But let's be real, Starlink is just another way for Elon Musk to make a buck while simultaneously playing space cowboy. And we're all supposed to be impressed because he's reusing rockets? It's like patting someone on the back for recycling their aluminum cans. Good for you, I guess?
SpaceX is slated for increased launches from Vandenberg in 2026, along with the Falcon Heavy debut. More sonic booms to rattle the Californians below.
And they call it "advancing economic growth, bolstering national security, and achieving national space objectives." What that really means is "more money for SpaceX, more surveillance capabilities, and more junk in space."
The Spectacle is Gone
Remember when a rocket launch was a thing? A rare and awe-inspiring event? Now it's just Tuesday. You can practically set your watch to the SpaceX launch schedule.
According to the articles, there were plenty of places to watch the spacex launch today in Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties. People packing beaches and overlooks, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fiery ascent. SpaceX plans weekend rocket launch at Vandenberg. Where to watch in California Why? What are they hoping to see that they haven't seen 109 times already this year?
I guess it's the same reason people still line up for the newest iPhone, even though it's basically the same phone as last year with a slightly better camera. We're all just suckers for shiny objects.
Speaking of shiny objects, this launch featured a brand new Falcon 9 booster, B1100. The eighth new booster to join the SpaceX fleet this year. So, they're still making new ones, even though the whole point was supposed to be reusability? It's like buying a brand new car every year because you don't want to bother with maintenance.
This whole thing just feels...manufactured. The press releases, the carefully curated launch videos, the constant stream of updates on Twitter. It's all designed to keep us hooked, to keep us buying into the Elon Musk mythos.
So What?
I'm not saying space exploration is bad. I'm not even saying Starlink is a failure. What I'm saying is that we need to stop treating these launches like some kind of miracle. It's a business, plain and simple. And a pretty ruthless one at that.
Maybe I'm just getting old and cynical. Maybe I've seen too many rockets launch and too many promises broken. Maybe I'm just tired of the endless hype machine.
But honestly, I'm starting to think that space is just another place for us to screw things up.
