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gerund_acquirer t1_iu9lz3n wrote

Reply to comment by squeevey in Amazon may have to turn to SpaceX for help launching its Starlink rival service by Soupjoe5

How much do I have to pay you to never use that metaphor again

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Steveeee974 t1_iu9oo7f wrote

I’ll stop saying it for $500

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cpgainer t1_iu9o3s3 wrote

$600. That’s such a common phrase, though

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Few_Carpenter_9185 t1_iuattmv wrote

Finger-pies, or bookstores-satellites?

Okay, only the first is a metaphor. I think best when typing. Sorry.

I wonder what the terminal velocity of a satellite delivered book would be though. Delta-V is never free. You don't just "drop" a copy of Zen and the Art of Motocycle Repair from orbit. It just floats beside you etc.

But after that, it's pretty low-mass, so ablative heat shielding requirements aren't a lot. Should be something sustainable and carbon neutral. Bamboo fiber? Dunno. Leave that for R&D.

So terminal velocity should be about average for any dropped object from an airplane really. Assuming the book is wrapped and closed? Roughly cubical, 1kg... drag coefficient of roughly 1.05... Maybe 141km/h? 87 mph ish?

What's the acceptable CEP for impact delivery? A little guidance thingy with an Arduino, servos, and cardboard fins maybe?

What? An Amazon Kindle will download an e-book from Amazon/Audible over Elon's Starlink?

Dammit...

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