Neat, but if you're going to stand outside and night and look to the sky for shining beacons that represent our fragile place in the universe, there are already thousands upon thousands of options up there.
If I wanted to share that experience of awe with a child, I would talk about the planets and stars. About man-made objects (and people) in space probing the edges of our knowledge. About time and distance. Not about a large disco ball.
It reminds me a bit of the commemorative orbital plaque in Planetes that Debris Section has to perform a controlled atmospheric reentry on. The newcomer to the team is distraught that they have to destroy a monument to peace, but when she finally has a chance to read it moments before burn, she realizes that even it was only ever a piece of propaganda.
This is a colossal advertising stunt masquerading as a humanitarian gesture. Remember when everyone got upset at the possibility of an orbiting Pepsi logo?
Or to remember the guy who funded it. This whole thing reminds me of Bender’s massive statue blowing flames and intoning, “Remember Me!!!” We already share the Sun and Moon, and Iridium network if it comes to that.
It's more like elevator music. I'd compare it to fitting the Grand Canyon with a vast network of PA speakers that plays Kenny G every evening at dusk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvylHVHB5Vo . (I suppose it's also not altogether unlike carving presidents into the side of Mount Rushmore.) More confirmation that we're living in a Douglas Adams/William Gibson collaboration. #ourdouglasadamspresent
Thanks for posting this. I wonder if I could see it from the city. It's supposed to be visible in 41 days for about 4 minutes. It would be nice if they could have a little bit more accurate timing, though.
After you enter your location, click the hamburger menu button in the top right corner of the map. It gives the ETA time to the second, the duration, and the angle from north.
Now if only there was an app that let you set a weather dependent alarm so I don't wake up at 3 am to a cloudy sky.
Hmm, for Portland OR it tells me cheerfully "You will not be able to see the satellite within the next 2087 hours. Please check again later." I guess that's only one third of the time until it de-orbits, so I may still get a chance.
Same for New York. That seems ... incorrect to me, given that it's in a polar orbit and completes an orbit every 90 minutes. It ought to be passing over me fairly often, no?
I also got that result for every city I tried in BC and Alberta, even though the path looks like it goes right through there soon. Not sure if I misunderstand the map though.
Time of day matters in addition to location, as you'll only be able to see it just after dusk or just before dawn when the sky is dark but the sun is still reflecting off the satellite
This would be better if it was bigger, and stayed in orbit longer, and ... had people on it, and represented international cooperation of a species dreaming of a future among the stars!
Taco Bell, the American fast food chain, announced Monday that it will give every American a free taco if a piece of Mir strikes a 40 x 40 foot floating target off the coast of Australia labeled "Free Taco Here!" The company said that it has taken out an insurance policy to cover the cost of the tacos should a piece hit the target.
Assuming Heavens Above [1] is right this satellite will have a maximum magnitude of 4 which is really faint. There are over 500 brighter stars in the night sky [2].
If this is supposed to be an ad for Rocket Lab(I suppose it is, after all we already have ISS orbiting over us) they could do a lot better.
On a similar note, the sun and the moon are the only two objects people across time and space all were/are able to see. Not even the stars are a shared experience.
You are right. I forgot about the visible planets. They didn't come to my mind since I've rarely seen them since I've only lived in light-polluted cities all my life.
yes please clarify. Northern and southern skies are different, so yes not all humanity has seen the same stars. But ‘stars’ as visible phenomena in the night sky are a universal human experience. Ditto was someone said about venus mars jupiter and saturn.
Congrats to NZ and Rocket Lab for joining the elite club of orbit-capable rocketeers. It's a huge achievement.
Surprised there's so much complaining about a test payload. Everyone's a critic, so I'll be one too:
"FAQ: How long will it remain in orbit? The Humanity Star will orbit the Earth for approximately nine months before its orbit starts to decay and it is pulled back into the Earth’s gravity."
I think the tracking server is flaking out under load.
I got "You will not be able to see the satellite within the next 2087 hours. Please check again later." for multiple places - San Francisco, Toronto, and St. Louis.
Upon retrying San Francisco:
"The Humanity Star has the highest chance of visibility in in [sic] 39 days. It will last about 3 minutes."
I've been toying with a conceptual project that would propose to build a large-ish structure (monolith) on the moon which would serve multiple long term goals.
1. Be large enough and positioned strategically to cast a shadow or project an image onto the surface of the moon large enough to be seen with the eye (or minimal telescopic aid). The image would be a clear indication to any intelligent beings that another intelligent being had placed it there intentionally and, with enough resolution, communicate wavelength and modulation information for #2.
2. Be a solar-powered radio transceiver sending signals to earth on the specified wavelength which repeatedly communicate information about the monolith and additional frequencies to send codes and receive more data to access deeper, denser information. These additional frequencies and codes would be used to unlock designs for rockets, telemetry, etc. necessary for intelligent and resourceful beings to travel from earth to the monolith location on the moon.
3. On the outside of the monolith would be carved further information on how to access the deepest storage of the monolith and decode the digital information within.
4. The inside of the monolith would contain the densest data storage containing the sum total of human knowledge, as well as cryogenically frozen embryos and genetic information for various species of Earth from our time period (including us, of course) and data on how they could possibly be unfrozen, replicated and/or brought back to life.
Assuming what I've outlined is possible, this project would leverage our best shared satellite (the moon) to create a shared experience (the monolith projection) and also serve as a time capsule that could outlive us should any of the many existential threats posing our species come to pass before we establish ourselves in space. Call it the ultimate hedge.
Given the stability of the moons surface, nothing short of a close impact would disturb this monument to humanity and our shared knowledge. And should our surviving descendants, a future evolved intelligent species, or a visitor from another star come to find Earth, they would also potentially find our legacy, and give us the faintest chance at being restored.
Anyone think I have a chance at raising a few 10s of billion with on kickstarter? Or else got a personal line to Elon?
PS - Yes, 2001 was an inspiration and I have definitely been envisioning the 1:4:9 design when thinking about this.
Coming soon, the "RippleStar", and soon afterward the bright orange "5 Hour Energy Star", to promote the shared human desire for a long-lasting, sugar-free revitalizing experience!
If I wanted to share that experience of awe with a child, I would talk about the planets and stars. About man-made objects (and people) in space probing the edges of our knowledge. About time and distance. Not about a large disco ball.