@DarrigoMelanie Honestly? I think Elon would agree with you.

@Andrew_Freeland @trenksthinks @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Why? His books are clean. He knows he's not fucking over the American taxpayers. He IS looking at the books for the DoD, NASA and all the rest to keep THOSE agencies from fucking over the American taxpayer. FIRST things FIRST.

Info: LEO- Low Earth Orbit MEO - Medium GEO - Geostationary On average, this is the lifespan of the typical satellite*, LEO: 2-8 years, 85% of satellites up MEO: 10-20 years, 10% GEO: 15-20+ years, 5% On average, this is the current state of satellites*: Low Earth Orbit (LEO): On average, LEO satellites have been up for about 6 years. Medium Earth Orbit (MEO): MEO satellites have been up for an average of around 12 years. Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO): GEO satellites have been in orbit for an average of roughly 18 years. Shut down launches? Pretty much anything and everything that is satellite based will cease to operate in the next 5-10 years. *These numbers exclude Starlink satellites which have a 5 year life expectancy before deorbit.

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Again, true enough, but yet again, state and local.

@Andrew_Freeland @trenksthinks @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch 5 years, tops. Satellites are a renewable resource, but they have to be RENEWED. You want to get out a bunch of rubber bands and make a big sling-shot?

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch No, dimwit. Funding was cut just like funding was cut for USAID. Useful parts will be put back. Try looking at things past the end of your nose. It's more productive.

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Elon's not getting the money. We do. And that IS useful research. Coke For Mice isn't.

The only contracts Elon's companies get from the Federal government are the SpaceX contracts to deliver NASA and DoD (etc) satellites and transport to and from the space station. This means you feel that anything that is above the atmosphere of the Earth shouldn't be utilized or explored. Got it.

If you don't care if the navigation system in your car works or if you can get a reasonably accurate weather forecast or emergency services in remote areas that don't have cellular coverage, then fine. Cut them. Oh. Speaking of cell coverage, go see how much money Verizon, ATT, et al gets from the government.

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Medical research that is actual research, yes. Studying the effects of cocaine on mice to see if coke makes them hornier isn't what I'd call medical research.

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch I disagree with your opinion.

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Depends on what you call 'medical research'. NIH should be as fiscally responsible as the DoD, EPA, OSHA, FEMA and the rest. Remember... TANSTAAFL. WE, the taxpayers are the ones footing the bills. You want to finance giving cocaine to rats, that's on you.

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Exactly what DOGE is trying to do. But Federal is Federal and state is state and local is local.

@Andrew_Freeland @trenksthinks @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Satellites the DoD and NASA want launched costs money to launch. Trips to the space station cost money. Soooo.... that means contracts go to the company with the most reliable and least expensive space transport.

Define "wast'.. or.. "waste" if you will. Again, almost all of the satellite launches in the last 5 years have been privately funded. If those companies want to.....'wast' their money, who are you to say differently? Yes, SpaceX gets NASA and DoD funding to launch their satellites and to service the space station. Is the space station wasteful spending? If you think so, then maybe you should check out becoming Amish.

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Starlink is wasteful? Scientific research is wasteful? What are you.. a nihilist?

@Andrew_Freeland @trenksthinks @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Satellites wear out y'know. And they serve a LOT of purposes, not just seeing if you're sitting in the bakc yard, naked. And since most satellite launches are privately funded, how's that going to affect SpaceX?

@Andrew_Freeland @BruceFike @SenPeterWelch Local and state mostly, not federal. And so? That's part of the game.

@acnewsitics Pfft. He's worth at least $15 mil. $1.2 mil on AmEx is for the points and miles.

There are a lot of satellites up there. Companies like DirecTV, DISH Network, Starlink, OneWeb, Iridium, etc. have a BUNCH of communications satellites up there. SpaceX has done launches for both OneWeb and Iridium. NOAA and NASA as well as India have used SpaceX services to launch weather satellites. Lockheed, Northrup, Boeing, Raytheon, Aieron and others have navigation satellites up there. I could keep going, but of the ~10,000 satellites currently in orbit, ~70% of them are owned by private companies, the bulk of which are privately owned and funded by SpaceX for the Starlink constellation. That means the bulk of satellites in space aren't contingent on the US government budget.