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Rocket Lab Criticized For Launching Their Own Private 'Star' Into Orbit (newsweek.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the fake-stars dept.

Newsweek reports: A private satellite company launched a three-foot-wide, carbon-fiber orb called the Humanity Star into the sky last week. Rocket Lab has promised the Humanity Star will be "the brightest thing in the sky," presumably other than the sun. The orb will reflect light from the sun back to Earth to achieve this effect. It's expected to orbit the Earth once every 90 minutes for the next nine months before it falls out of the sky and burns up in the atmosphere. The reaction on social media has been largely swift and scornful...

The stated goal of the project, at least, seems admirable: "No matter where you are in the world, rich or in poverty, in conflict or at peace, everyone will be able to see the bright, blinking Humanity Star orbiting Earth in the night sky," Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said in a statement on the project's website. "Wait for when the Humanity Star is overhead, and take your loved ones outside to look up and reflect. You may just feel a connection to the more than 7 billion other people on this planet we share this ride with."
Slashdot reader dmoberhaus writes that "astronomers are annoyed by what they perceive as just another piece of space junk getting in the way."

"Wow. Intentionally bright long-term space graffiti. Thanks a lot Rocket Lab," complained an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology. And one New Zealand journalist accused Rocket Lab of "vandalising the night sky with shiny space rubbish."

32 of 265 comments (clear)

  1. An amusing combination of factors by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Astronomers without access to space-based telescopes are annoyed because someone is giving them yet another light source they have to remove from their observations. (Ask any astronomer how they feel about the moon.)

    1. Re:An amusing combination of factors by ClickOnThis · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Because it's space. This is the first space troll. Space trolling on a commercial scale. Now you need space cops to put them in space jail. But you have to get to space first.

      The people who did this are on earth, not in space.

      There is such a thing as space law. Per the info at this link, it covers such principles as:

      non-appropriation of outer space by any one country, arms control, the freedom of exploration, liability for damage caused by space objects, the safety and rescue of spacecraft and astronauts, the prevention of harmful interference with space activities and the environment, the notification and registration of space activities, scientific investigation and the exploitation of natural resources in outer space and the settlement of disputes.

      (Emphasis mine.) Has Rocket Lab broken space law? I don't know, IANAspaceL. But whether they have or not, I suppose they could be sued by anyone who is harmed or nuisanced by their activity, just like you could sue a neighbor who shines a spotlight into your front window, or plays their stereo too loud.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    2. Re: An amusing combination of factors by ClickOnThis · · Score: 2

      Nobody in this thread claimed that astronomers were more important than anyone else. The point is that they have a legitimate complaint about the impact of satellites like this.

      --
      If it weren't for deadlines, nothing would be late.
    3. Re:An amusing combination of factors by dwywit · · Score: 2

      It reminds me of a sci-fi short story about astronauts on the moon, conducting their experiments, one of which was a kind of roman candle, ejecting a cloud of glowing {something} into the moon's atmosphere, for observation by earth scientists. It was supposed to glow and provide information when hit by un-filtered solar radiation, or some such.

      One of the astronauts had accepted a sizable payment from a soft-drink company to fit a stencil over the candle's business end, resulting in an unprecedented giant advertisment for coca-cola in a glowing vapour cloud in lunar atmosphere, handily also visible from earth.

      The astronaut concerned had no further career, but he never had to work again.

      I thought it was a nice trick, as it didn't affect the experiment itself.

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    4. Re:An amusing combination of factors by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 2

      Menstrual cycles would go completely haywire.

      I don't think we are prepared for that sort of hysteria.

  2. Actually . . . by jshackney · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This seems kinda cool to me. I get texts that let me know when the ISS will be overhead (usually 1 or 2 days in advance), and they tell me where to look, what time, and give me a rough elevation where the ISS will be visible and where it will disappear. Maybe the Humanity Star gang could take some notes.

    1. Re:Actually . . . by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 2

      If you're the sort of person likely to "take your loved ones outside to look up and reflect"... wouldn't it be more appropriate to stare up at the multinational ISS rather than a glorified disco ball?

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    2. Re:Actually . . . by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Yes. And coincidentally, I did this just tonight with the ISS. Here are two links that would be helpful to anyone else interested:

      http://www.heavens-above.com/PassSummary.aspx?satid=25544 --- you'll need to enter your location in the upper right hand corner of the page
      http://transit-finder.com --- for finding when ISS will transit the moon or sun (or a near pass as well)

    3. Re:Actually . . . by JoshuaZ · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The problem is the sort of general precedent and concern about what happens in the long-term as launch costs go down even further. This object is deliberately bright, unlike the ISS which just happens to be bright because it is big. What happens if McDonald's decides to put a set of 30 of these shiny balls that form a constellation in the shape of an M?

    4. Re:Actually . . . by quantaman · · Score: 2

      This seems kinda cool to me. I get texts that let me know when the ISS will be overhead (usually 1 or 2 days in advance), and they tell me where to look, what time, and give me a rough elevation where the ISS will be visible and where it will disappear. Maybe the Humanity Star gang could take some notes.

      The ISS is part of an international space program.

      Communication satellites are for communication.

      Spy satellites are for... a different kind of communication.

      The "Humanity Star" is a cross between an Ad campaign and a self-indulgent art project.

      Maybe the next one can blink a secret message in Morse code or something.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    5. Re:Actually . . . by Solandri · · Score: 2

      Things like the ISS and Iridium flares are from satellites which serve some practical purpose. This disco ball serves no practical purpose, and just adds another item to the thousands of items astronomers have to check for which may possibly intrude on their observations for the night.

      It's the difference between someone accidentally shining a laser at your eyes just because they thought it was fun and cool to play around with a laser pointer, and someone accidentally shining a laser at your eyes while setting up equipment designed to give advance warning of an arriving earthquake. The latter is unfortunate but understandable, the former is inexcusable.

      Fortunately its orbit is low enough it'll decay and burn up soon. But even that is assuming it doesn't hit some other piece of debris and shatter, kicking up pieces of junk into a higher orbit which could end up circling the Earth for decades if not millenia. It's a really bad risk to be taking for something whose purpose is entirely artistic. Astronomers are making a big deal about it because they're trying to nip the problem in the bud. Since we currently have no means of capturing and removing space junk from orbit, once something gets stuck up there, it's potentially up there forever.

    6. Re:Actually . . . by Nutria · · Score: 2

      They wasted nothing to get it in orbit, since it was a secondary payload on what was -- to begin with -- a test launch.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    7. Re:Actually . . . by Nutria · · Score: 2

      But... think of Humanity while you stare up at the sky and sing "Kumbaya", holding hands with your neighbors. Results don't matter, only whether or not you mean well.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
    8. Re:Actually . . . by JoshuaZ · · Score: 2

      Small objects can stay very close to each other without stationkeeping if they are at the same altitude. The classic example of this is the Vostok 3 and Vostok 4 missions. In general, satellites at nearly the same altitude stay very close to where they were to each other. They will of course move out of alignment but if launched all together this will take a long time, on the order of weeks or months, more than enough time for a big giant M to be seen all around the world.

  3. Congratulations - you've invented Sputnik! by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 3, Insightful

    >> a three-foot-wide, carbon-fiber orb...will reflect light from the sun back to Earth to achieve this effect..."No matter where you are in the world, rich or in poverty, in conflict or at peace, everyone will be able to see the bright, blinking Humanity Star orbiting Earth in the night sky" said (crazy leader)

    Congratulations - you've invented Sputnik!

  4. Ads :) by wolfheart111 · · Score: 2

    Lets put some ads up there.

    --
    [($)]
  5. or... by JediJorgie · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > You may just feel a connection to the more than 7 billion other people on this planet we share this ride with.

    If you want to feel a connection with the others on the planet, how about you take the millions this BS cost and use it to help bring clean water to the millions of people around the world that do not have access to it today?

    1. Re:or... by LWATCDR · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This was a test object for the launch vehicle. It did not cost millions. So do you go to the movies? Drink alcohol? Play video games? Why don't you use that money to help bring clean water to people that need it?

      Yes this was a bad idea and a little bit self-indulgent but overall not super evil or expensive.

      --
      See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
    2. Re:or... by Brett+Buck · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Given that "bringing clean water to the millions" is not a matter of throwing money at the problem, your comment makes *no sense*.

              Everyone needs to understand - the world produces FAR more than required to simply support the population, VASTLY, and in a lot of cases, we are operating far below capacity because there is no point in making any more.

              Poverty, famine, dirty drinking water, most disease, are all *political* problems that could rapidly be eliminated if you removed the political barriers. In many cases, solving the problem would simply mean killing off brutal dictatorships and tribal leaders that cause the vast majority of pain in the world while trying to grab power. Unless you are willing to do that, all the money in the world will not solve the issue, in fact, sending more money to areas where problems exist would certainly make the problem much worse.

    3. Re:or... by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 2

      One of these things interferes with astronomical observations from the Earth, and one of them doesn't. It's not that hard to figure out.

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  6. Do you want Kessler? by sinij · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Do you want Kessler? Because that's how you get Kessler!

  7. Re:Tracking info by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 3, Funny

    I have tracking info: 1ZE680080304050194, carrier UPS.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  8. Re:Tracking info by curiousdave · · Score: 2

    Check at Heavens-above.com they have Humanity Star listed

  9. Eh, bright? by Ecuador · · Score: 5, Informative

    No idea why anyone is upset. Sure, if you start putting dozens of disco balls in orbit there might be an issue, but this one you can't even see! When they say "bright" they mean that once every quite a few days it might pass above you in just the right orientation and angle from the sun so that one of its mirrors hit you directly during the night with sunlight at a maximum brightness of... magnitude 4.2... If you don't know what that means, it is about as bright as the stars in the middle of the little dipper "handle", the ones you can't see from the city. So cities are out, rural areas can see it, but still it is nowhere as bright as other satellites, ISS etc.
    In any case best data for when/how bright: heavens above.

    --
    Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
  10. Ego by Centurix · · Score: 2

    The problem isn't just this one instance, but all the following ones which promise to be brighter and up for longer in the future. "Our giant-ass disco ball will be 10 times brighter than the last dudes pathetic pinball, it'll be so bright you won't be able to sleep!"

    Taking a note from the history of skyscraper heights, this could go on for a long time...

    --
    Task Mangler
  11. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 2

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  12. Re:Kumba by Gavagai80 · · Score: 2

    There were other payloads on that test flight. Electron can launch ~500 lbs for that $5M, that's $10K for 1 lb. It probably weighs less than 1 lb, so the most you can theoretically say is being wasted is a few thousand dollars. But in reality they had nobody else who wanted that tiny portion of payload space so it was free.

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  13. New Zealand's 'clean green' image by Traf-O-Data-Hater · · Score: 2

    It's a little ironic and a bit puzzling that the country of New Zealand, known for their strong environmental practices, has used their first space launch to put up what some might say is nothing more than space junk. Amazing.

  14. Target practice by sd1248 · · Score: 2

    Maybe the Chinese could use it for target practice.

  15. It's *our* sky, who do you think you are? by Assmasher · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Seriously. Considering the amazing amount of sh** up there for dubious, stupid, or accidental reasons - they're pissed because a PR/Goodwill gesture that will end in 9 months was launched in a way that virtually no other group of humans will be able to replicate?

    Chill, the, f***, out...

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    Loading...
  16. Looks like a flop to me? by mark_osmd · · Score: 5, Insightful

    heavens-above.com shows it as about 5 to 8 mag over my location for the next set of passes (see 9 Mar - 19 Mar) http://heavens-above.com/PassS... Which is hardly "the brightest thing in the sky other than the Sun" and not even naked eye visible at all even at 5.0 mag if you're at a light polluted area. It's possible the heavens-above estimate is low for the magnitude? Your plain old LEO satellites will beat these magnitudes all the time, I've seen many from the dark skys of Nebraska when I was there in an astronomy club. But you had to look right at dusk when the sky was just getting dark but so the Sun was still hitting the satellite. The Humanity Star will go dark just like any other LEO sat because it goes into shadow so quickly due to the low orbit.

  17. Wow by TobyMills · · Score: 2

    So Governments spend Billions of your tax dollars on putting up sats specifically designed to spy on you and nobody complains about those becasue they can't be seen. But a private company, spends its own money as part of a rocket test to put up a temporary and beautiful pulsating orb for all of humanity to enjoy, and everyone is outraged. Ok, thats it, we have finally gone mad.