When Joe Rogan debated if Elon Musk's $350 million space giant's project is dangerous: "But the amateurs are pissed"

Joe Rogan once discussed the pros and cons of the ambitious Starlink project, a satellite internet constellation deployed, owned, and operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The constellation consists of thousands of satellites in the low Earth orbit.

The astronomical community has raised concerns about light pollution from these satellites, which can negatively impact scientific space observations by causing optical interference. Apart from this, concerns have been raised about the satellites colliding with each other, potentially causing damage.

During Musk's appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2022, Rogan asked him to elaborate on the Starlink project and the criticism regarding its effect on space observation. Musk said that his team has communicated with professional astronomers to address their concerns and alleviate their fears. Rogan asked:

"But the amateurs are pissed right?"

Musk responded:

"Yeah, I don't know what they're [amateur astronomers] talking about. The pro-level guys - They know what they're talking about. We'll make sure that this is not an obstacle to the science."

Speaking further, Musk clarified the doubt about satellites being visible in the sky, stating:

"Honestly, it's pretty hard to spot a satellite once they reach the orbit. It's hard to find them. We have trouble finding them ourselves... When they get tossed out of the rocket, briefly, they're tumbling, and when they're tumbling, they'll twinkle and then you'll see them."

Check out Joe Rogan and Elon Musk's discussion below (0:01):

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Elon Musk explains Starlink's potential and limitations to Joe Rogan

In the aforementioned episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Elon Musk explained various aspects of the Starlink project. Speaking about the bandwidth it could provide, Musk said:

"Long-term, we're talking about gigabyte-level [bandwidth], yeah, gigabyte low latency... So you can play a fast-twitch kind of a video game, download a movie super fast."

Musk emphasized that with Starlink, the entire world could eventually access low-latency, high-speed internet connectivity. He also mentioned that software improvements could further enhance bandwidth.

However, Musk clarified that Starlink will not completely replace all forms of internet connectivity, but serve a specific purpose:

"There's going to be a role for many different types of connectivities. So, Starlink is great for low to medium population density. Satellites are not actually great for high-density urban areas. So you're actually better off having 5G for that. [4:10]

As of 2024, the Starlink constellation consists of over 7,000 small satellites. SpaceX announced that it reached 4 million subscribers in September 2024, with active services in several countries in North America, South America, Western Europe, and Australia.