Why I suspect Apollo was a hoax.

[Apollo 957]

I did the arithmetic once, on the basis that all 20,000 satellites are in orbit at the same height as the ISS, and concluded there'd be one every 10,000 square miles or so...

By international agreement satellites in the geostationary belt must be at least 1,000 nautical miles apart.  Even spacecraft at the "same" longitude are widely separated.

Indeed. My point in the calculation (unstated) was that it's kinda difficult to photograph other satellites at this kind of spacing, even if they did happen to be at the same orbital height. Which they're not.

And you've reinforced that, thank you.

[frenat]

Why would you think you'd have film of them from the ISS?  The total space up there is multiple times the size of the surface of the Earth.  Satellites are set up in orbits that don't intersect so they don't have to worry about them running into each other. 

Exactly.  It just shows that the deniers that claim there should be pics taken from other satellites really haven't put any thought into what they're asking.

I did the arithmetic once, on the basis that all 20,000 satellites are in orbit at the same height as the ISS, and concluded there'd be one every 10,000 square miles or so...

[nomuse]

Hey, tradosaurus, just what powers your little sun, making it shine, let alone follow that odd circular path over the Earth that animation showed?

God. 

Who or what created your universe?

Then why argue any of the details?

If God wants ships to dip below the horizon while on a flat plane, or a Sun to appear to set whilst actually being in mid-air, or a Moon to fail to change apparent diameter when it grows closer or retreats (unlike any other object we observe), then they do.

Are you saying your God isn't powerful enough to pull off a paradox or two? Are you imposing limitations on His powers?

[gillianren]

Get the Sputnick! app. It's free. It will give you ISS passes and Iridium flare predictions up to a week in advance. Find a convenient pass or flare and go outside and look and when you see it, come back here and try to tell us all how they faked it.

Just go outside on a clear day at dusk or dawn and look up.  Scan the sky for a while and there's a good chance you might see one.  At that time of day the sun has already set on the ground while the satellites high overhead are still in sunlight (because of the curved earth thing), making them easy to spot.  When I was a frequent stargazer, I'd regularly see satellites passing overhead.

Hell, my ren faire boss, who I'm not sure even finished junior high (he definitely didn't finish high school), can point out satellites as they go past.  He's certainly not part of some cartel of academia; they'd never let him in.  However, he is perfectly capable of observations and clever enough to spot when the world around him doesn't make sense.  And sensible enough to ask people he believes do understand.

[Sus_pilot]

Hey, tradosaurus, just what powers your little sun, making it shine, let alone follow that odd circular path over the Earth that animation showed?

God. 

Who or what created your universe?

I generally don't get overtly religious on these forums, but He created mine, too.  Sadly, you've decided to neglect/disrespect the coolest stuff He created, particularly mankind's ability to create and think, such as being able to travel in space and go to the moon (and even further someday, I hope).

Your view of the Universe, whether one believes God created it or that it is a random act of nature, is sadly myopic and lacks wonder.  How sad.

[Sus_pilot]

God. 

Who or what created your universe?

My God invented nuclear fusion, so They don't have to fiddle around with the Universe all the time to make it work.  How does yours do it?

I like that!

[frenat]

God. 

Who or what created your universe?

My God was smart enough to make it all work with round planets and gravity so that every observation can be explained and no magic is needed like in the flat nonsensical Earth.  Too bad yours isn't too bright.

[raven]

God. 

Who or what created your universe?

My God invented nuclear fusion, so They don't have to fiddle around with the Universe all the time to make it work.  How does yours do it?

I like that!

Heh, thanks!
Seriously, tradosaurus, even if you take literalistic view on that book, it says "On the Seventh day, God rested" not words to the effect of, "And from the Seventh day on, God micromanaged every detail of every act of nature."

[Peter B]

There are no satellites.  If there were I'm sure the ISS station would have filmed plenty of them or when I google satellite I would see literally thousands of real pictures of satellites.   

I'm just pointing out the inconsistencies in the globe earth religion.

If there are no satellites, then how was this video recorded:

The longest single take on that video is about 5 minutes long, during which time: Williams talks almost constantly; she moves around in all directions through the air within limited space; her hair remains sprayed outwards; her necklace constantly bounces around rather than sitting against her chest.

The footage can't have been recorded on a Vomit Comet as the longest take is much longer than the maximum amount of time weightlessness can be maintained on such an aircraft.

The footage can't be spliced together from multiple Vomit Comet parabolas as the footage is a single take with no cuts.

The footage can't be faked in normal gravity as Williams floats in all directions and her necklace bounces around.

The footage can't be being replayed in slow motion as she's constantly speaking and her lips synchronise to her speech.

Williams can't be suspended from wires as the rooms she moves through provide no room for the necessary rigs, particularly when she turns around within the sleeping quarters.

Williams's hair is not being held in place with hair spray because she brushes it heavily enough to press it down against her head and the hair springs back into its original shape.

The only explanation which makes sense is that she's in freefall around the Earth.

(I excluded the possibility of anti-gravity machines because I assume you'd reject such devices as even more outlandish than space travel, but please let me know if that assumption is wrong.)

[gillianren]

Since he doesn't believe in gravity . . . .

[Peter B]

Since he doesn't believe in gravity . . . .

True, but whatever force he thinks keeps us stuck to the ground clearly isn't operating in that video...

[raven]

Since he doesn't believe in gravity . . . .

True, but whatever force he thinks keeps us stuck to the ground clearly isn't operating in that video...

Still, since when was consistency part of tradosaurus's belief . . . ?I hesitate to say 'structure' or even 'system', as it's just a disorganized mess, from what we've seen.

[gillianren]

Conglomeration?

[Zakalwe]

An accretion of stupidities?

[ka9q]

What happened to the 20,000+ satellites in orbit?  Why can't Orion stay in communication?

You don't REALLY think that every satellite in orbit is set up to enable NASA communications between their latest craft and home base, do you?

Especially since most of those 20,000 "satellites" are actually bits of debris. About 41,000 objects ~10cm and larger, from all countries, in earth orbit have been cataloged by NORAD since the Sputnik 1 launch; over half have since decayed.

Of the ~17,500 (not 20,000) cataloged objects still in orbit only ~4,100 are payloads, and of those payloads only ~1,500 are still active. The rest are spent launch vehicles, random bits of loose hardware, and debris from explosions and collisions -- the most disturbing being deliberate explosions and collisions from antisatellite weapons tests. The Chinese ASAT test in 2007 created over 2,300 cataloged bits of debris. The accidental collision between Iridium 33 and Cosmos 2251 in 2009 created > 2,000 cataloged bits of debris.

There are probably hundreds of thousands of bits of orbital debris too small to catalog.