There's a tension here, and I'm not saying that I know where the appropriate balance is-- but it's a tension between the positive societal impact that inexpensive and ubiquitous broadband may have, vs. the societal impact of scientific knowledge from ground-based observatories.

I'm sure there's other ways of solving the broadband problem. I'm sure there are other ways of getting the astronomical data. I'm also pretty sure that all of them would have their own trade offs. Everything does.

In this case, I think the unilateral approach that Musk is taking has hurt perception of the project as much as the trade offs represented by the project itself.