Comment by wcfields | Hacker News Reader

Comment by wcfields | Hacker News Reader

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I had a buddy [1] that worked in the kitchen at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station for a few seasons in 2012-2014. From what he told me: The internet works at certain times of the day at different bandwidths depending on the satellite. I think at that time there was 3 in orbit, and one of them was a retired Navy sat that had like dial-up speed.

Also everything that goes to the station stays there so the vinyl collection is amazing, and they have a huge Betamax / VHS library and most importantly they have /The Thing/ on Betamax.

[1] https://www.portlandmercury.com/Theater/2012/07/26/6564600/m...

Edit: Here's the satellite schedule for this week, https://www.usap.gov/technology/documents/SPSAT%2020220915.p... and you can sign up for a listserv of updates here: https://www.usap.gov/technology/1935/

These are the available birds in orbit for Antarctica:

Broadband: South Pole TDRSS Relay (SPTR) Satellite

Broadband: Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS)

Broadband: Skynet Satellite Communications System

Narrowband: Iridium Multi-Channel System (IMCS)

Shemya Air Force Base (now Eareckson Air Station) in the Aleutian Islands had a policy that weight limits were waived for entertainment media. So you weren't going to be charged any penalties for bringing in movies, comics, CDs, or books because they increased the quality of life of such an isolated base (you were expected to share).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eareckson_Air_Station

Oh, my. Watching "The Thing" in an Antarctic station would be insomnia fodder.

> Also everything that goes to the station stays there

What's the reasoning behind that? Presumably people bring back clothes and other personal affects right?

Personal effects must be like 1% (approximately) of what they ship in, by weight. Consider things like the consumables and construction equipment.

Given the cost of getting things there, it's probably polite to leave things like movies that you could easily replace back home, so others have them to watch.

Most things are probably cheaper to replace than to bring back from the most remote area on Earth, and far cheaper to leave for someone else to use than make them bring their own. If unwanted, it’s trash - too expensive to move when there’s presumably an acceptable landfill right there (may sound environmentally unfriendly, but hauling trash back is likely worse).

If I remember right they're actually required to ship all trash back. There are no trash landfills in Antarctica.

I wonder exactly how many copies/versions/editions of The Thing they have.

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