DirecTV offers free install to International Space Station
Filed under: Satellite
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mike @ Nov 16th 2007 4:54PM
im pretty sure nasa has people more then qualified to install the equipment rather then send directvs top engineer into space. Unless that sentance was a joke too like the last one?
Big Sam @ Nov 16th 2007 4:55PM
I would be very jealous of the top engineer.
I'm other news, I'll be able to enjoy all of DTVs new HD channels tomorrow sometime between 8-12.
The Aggie CEO @ Nov 16th 2007 5:04PM
I wonder how much of a Tax write off that is..........
The Fuzz 53 @ Nov 16th 2007 5:11PM
Are they going to charge $45 to drop a wire down the wall like they do with their regular "free" installation?
roger_huston @ Nov 16th 2007 6:19PM
Ummm. I wonder if the space station has a clear view of the southern sky? Anyone else knows how DirectTV is going to get a signal to a "space station?" Where do you think they are going to mount the dish?
- Roger
JeffDM @ Nov 16th 2007 6:25PM
I'm pretty sure that probably everyone on the station is far more than capable of installing whatever DirecTV can throw at them. At least some of those station residents are trained to maintain and assemble the station.
I don't think DirecTV circles the globe though, so I don't know what they would do for a signal for two thirds of its orbit.
Seth Amott @ Nov 16th 2007 11:12PM
Yeah, but you only get a signal 99.9% of the time. Damn Solar Flare fade.
Seth Amott @ Nov 16th 2007 11:13PM
Would Meteor Shower Fade have been funnier?
jimrobinette @ Nov 17th 2007 4:00AM
If the D* installers can't even install an HR-20 in a normal house without screwing it up, imagine how dorked up the spacestation will be after Mastec gets ahold of it!
qubez @ Nov 17th 2007 9:26AM
The space station's orbit is only 360 kilometers up, and it orbits the earth every 91 minutes at an inclination of 51 degrees (while the earth spins under it every 24 hours). This is close enough that you can consider it to pretty much be on the surface of the Earth when drawing your mental picture.
The DirecTV satellites are in a geostationary orbit (they stay in the same place above the earth) 35786 km above the earth. Picture the Earth as a basketball - the DirecTV satellites are 2.5 feet away from the ball.
The space station wouldn't have a problem receiving the DirecTV signal (and wouldn't have any rain fade either), the problem would be WHEN they could receive the signal. The DirecTV satellites have spot beams that are pointed at just North America (You can see the DirecTV coverage map here: http://web.archive.org/web/20050212015437/http://www.kvh.com/footprint/DirectUS.html). Only when the space station is orbiting above North America could it receive programming. This would mean for about 4.5 hours a day, the space station could receive about 30 minutes of programming and then receive nothing for the next 60 minutes (when it is out of the beam...and then on the other side of the Earth). Duh. You can see the DirecTV coverage map here:
Then you have to get a dish pointed at the DirecTV constellation correctly. I think the attitude systems have more important things to keep the station pointed at than the DirecTV satellites.
Even if DirecTV were to broadcast something from the ground, they would need a global network of uplink sites. Maybe they think they can load up that special DVR really fast once a day...
This is pure dumb PR.
If DirecTV wanted to offer some real goodwill, they could put the NASA channel on their main satellite at the 101 orbital instead of 119 that requires a triple-sat dish that a minority of subscribers have.