
Unhappy Elon Musk went on firing spree over slow satellite broadband progress - okket
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/10/unhappy-elon-musk-went-on-firing-spree-over-slow-satellite-broadband-progress/
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ryanmercer
*businessman trying to get a profitable product launched handles business.

~~~
meowface
Pretty much. This would never be an article if it were "[X] Fortune 500
company fires 7 managers over sluggish progress". Happens all the time.

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nouseforaname
I agree that this wouldn't be news if he weren't so visibly publicly unhinged.
But his erratic behavior sells papers.

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megaman8
> SpaceX has said it will offer speeds of up to a gigabit per second, with
> latencies between 25ms and 35ms. Those latencies would make SpaceX's service
> comparable to cable and fiber.

> The FCC proposal would require SpaceX to launch 50 percent of these
> satellites within six years and the rest within an additional three years.

Well, the long term future looks promising.

~~~
ryanmercer
>Well, the long term future looks promising.

Unless of course Kessler effect.

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foxyv
These are low orbits that degrade quickly without maintenance. Kessler
Syndrome will not be a problem because the atmosphere will slowly eat
everything. That's how they get the low 50ms ping. Geostationary orbit where
Kessler may theoretically become a problem in the future is 240ms round trip
for light.

~~~
ryanmercer
>These are low orbits that degrade quickly without maintenance

With, if I'm not mistaken, other satellites already in that general area.

The Kessler effect doesn't have to persist for years or centuries, a single
failure can easily cascade and take out most, if not all, satellites occupying
that general space before the debris deorbits.

Unless he's changed the figure, he intends to put 11,925 satellites into orbit
for the network in low earth orbit, there are currently about 15,000 cataloged
objects in that orbit (including debris).

It isn't a certainty but it's still a risk.

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lacker
This doesn't sound like the problems are hiring ex-Microsoft and ex-Google
people per se. It sounds more like a typical problem with managing a remote
office, where the remote office isn't operating the way the home office wants.
The telling part to me is:

 _Musk quickly brought in new managers from SpaceX headquarters in California
to replace a number of the managers he fired._

This seems like a good sign to me. It's hard to convince people with
experience at your company to move cities to start up a new remote office, but
it's an important part of getting the culture right.

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rurban
Does anybody understands the technical limitations with that low orbit? I
assume it has to be powered somehow to stay in that extremely low orbit, and
therefore has limited lifetime. You cannot just shoot rockets up there to fill
them up.

But since the technology will also have short lifetime (5 year I assume) Musk
might be right to make it cheap and fast.

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mrep
They plan on using ion thrusters:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/8iy7pv/why_is_space...](https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/8iy7pv/why_is_spacex_planning_to_use_ion_thrusters/)

~~~
rurban
Ouch. At first I mixed it up with the EMDrive, which would not work.
[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325177082_The_Space...](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325177082_The_SpaceDrive_Project_-
_First_Results_on_EMDrive_and_Mach-Effect_Thrusters)

But a simple ion thruster is fine. Those beasts are incredibly fast up there
in low orbit. Something like one earth orbit in 2 hours.

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jiveturkey
not surprised on the progress. i know someone there, in security.
spaceX/starlink think very highly of themselves, in that annoying way. my
contact is indeed quite a skilled engineer, so you know, if everyone else is
like him then their self-opinion may be valid. doesn't make the arrogance any
more pleasant though.

i understand it's stupid hard to get a job there. the kind of interview that
is often discussed with disdain, rightly so, here on HN.

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ilove_banh_mi
I'm glad employees can be fired at will, in this country, and I'm glad he
takes that part of SpaceX so seriously.

On the other hand, hiring managers from Microsoft and Google does not seem to
be a good match for the type and pace of innovation Musk wants. Based on my
work experience with ex-managers from those companies (not meant to exclude
management from other elephantine companies).

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megaman8
Sure, it's a good thing that the option exists that employees can be fired at
will. but, that doesn't mean that firing is a good thing. If someone is fired
or laid off, it means the company has failed in some way. Either they hired
the wrong person, or had unrealistic expectations or in some way mismanaged
their resources (hiring too many people for a project, etc). Not something
that should be proudly celebrated.

~~~
ilove_banh_mi
People make mistakes in all avenues of life, including hiring. It's important
to be able to make amends, or change paths, without being blocked by
(inimical) others or by (excessive) regulation. In some parts of the world,
firing is near impossible.

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jules-jules
Not OP, but I'd agree fully as long as we're talking about management (well-
compensated staff). Musk has been operating under the motto the end justifies
the means and he’s getting a ton of flack for this from the left. Personally,
I am slightly more ambivalent, after all both Tesla and SpaceX are not renown
for their good work-life balance, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone who wants to
work there. (Just to be clear, I do sympathise with the low-paid staff in the
Tesla factories, and think they should be given better working conditions;
some of the stories coming out of there are appalling).

