Skip to comments.Rocket Lab Reveals 'The Humanity Star,' a 'Disco Ball' Satellite Shining From Space
Posted on 01/24/2018 5:29:08 PM PST by BenLurkin
A commercial space company seeking to shine among the satellite launch industry has secretly sent its own "star" into orbit.
Rocket Lab on Wednesday (Jan. 24) revealed to the world that "The Humanity Star" is circling Earth and is expected to become the brightest object in the night sky. Covered in 65 highly-reflective panels, the satellite is rapidly spinning, reflecting the sun's light back onto the planet, much in the same way that a disco ball casts light onto a dance floor.
From the ground, the geodesic sphere-shaped satellite will appear as a bright, glinting star quickly traversing the night sky.
Secretly launched on board "Still Testing," the second test flight of Rocket Lab's Electron carbon-composite booster, The Humanity Star satellite lifted off on Sunday (Jan. 21) at 2:43 p.m. local time (0143 GMT; 8:43 p.m. EST Jan. 19) from the U.S.-based company's Launch Complex-1 on the MÄhia Peninsula in New Zealand.
The 55-foot-tall (17-meter) Electron rocket also lofted three commercial nanosatellites: a Dove Pioneer Earth-imaging satellite for Rocket Lab's launch customer, Planet, and two weather and ship tracking Lemur-2 satellites for Spire. The latter two satellites were subsequently sent into a circular orbit by Rocket Lab's kick stage, also revealed this week.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
The Humanity Star - Lights for People.
So it’s just a new form of pollution? Like light pollution or noise pollution, this will be sky pollution. Class action them...
Just what we need—some manmade object cluttering up the sky.
Here in Maryland, the light pollution is so bad that only a few of the brightest stars and planets are visible. But when I went to Mongolia over a year ago, the night sky was completely free of any light pollution. The stars shone gloriously; the Milky Way was visible in a way that I do not remember seeing since I was a child (and even then, it may not have been as clear). I am glad that there was not a manmade object up there to mar the beautiful view.
They’re launching something just for kicks and sparkles?
Since we cannot see the Milky Way galaxy anymore unless we get to a very remote place, I would agree, that we should put some more artificial light in the sky. /sarc
I wont say a lot but a disco ball illuminated a certain way is a good countermeasure
You stumbled on it
This was a clever idea back in 1960 when NASA launched the Echo satellite.
Installation art. Space litter.
This satellite is not bright enough to affect stargazing, and it will only be visible for a couple of minutes every month or two for a particular location.
I can just see it in another few years.
“Testing of an IBCM went awry after the missile hit the ‘Humanity Star’, sending the rocket off course and instead of landing harmlessly in the Pacific Ocean, hit the coast of Russia. Russia, fearing an attack launched over 60% of their nuclear weapons, and the U.S and China responded.”
Not only will it clutter up the sky, it will clutter up the UFO reporting websites!
Go up on South Mountain. Pretty good there,
The last time I saw the milky way was 1997 in the high desert
They have us starblind and blind to satellite orbits in some ways.
When I wad a child any chucklehead could track Sputnik or Echo II, not so easy today.
Sure we have tools, but the common man is blind.
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