In certain circles it is not uncommon to trip across the debate “Is graffiti art?” You can also find scads about it online if you are so inclined (Google). However, the debate doesn’t come up all that often in the context of conversations about satellites or space… until now.
In 2018 a company named Rocket Lab launched some previously announced satellites from New Zealand. They also launched an unannounced satellite, and more notably, one with no explicit scientific or technical purpose. That satellite was The Humanity Star, and it was a carbon fiber geodesic sphere about 3 feet in diameter that is designed to reflect the sun in order to be one of the most visible objects in the night sky from anywhere on Earth for about nine months. Here’s an article about the satellite, its sponsor, Rocket Lab’s CEO Peter Beck, as well as the message that it is intended to convey.
The satellite was intended to be a relatively short-lived statement of inspiration, but it created quite a stir. Here’s a link to a one minute video about the satellite, its creator and the controversy surrounding the whole enterprise.
The story behind the controversy is that Caleb A. Scharf, Director of Astrobiology at Columbia, published this scathing rant about the satellite via Scientific American.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Satellite Vermin (Caleb A. Scharf, Scientific American)
Scharf’s post was picked up and echoed by other news outlets. Here are some examples.
Space Gets an Artificial Star. Astronomers Ask: Do We Need More? (Christina Caron, New York Times)
Company Shoots Shiny Orb into Orbit and Angers Astronomers Over Space Graffiti. (Ben Guarino, Washtington Post)
The truth is that if you dig deep enough, there was probably more controversy about this than was warrented. First, while “light pollution” is a serious issue (worthy of an entire post), this particular case of it is a temporary and spurious scapegoat. The same is true about the accusation that it is contributing to the problem of “space junk” since this modest little missionary was designed to follow modern protocols for such things and plunge to its own pre-calculated death upon the conclusion of its short life.
Interestingly, while the satellite probably didn’t deserve the bum rap it got, it did end up serving a higher purpose. It brought attention to the serious, real problem of the massive amount of “space junk” that’s floating around our planet now and the bevy of stuff that is likely to join the ruckus in the near future.
Here’s a two minute visualization generated by Stuart Grey using tracking data from Space-Track.org that shows how space debris has propagated over the last half century.
Stuart Grey (YouTube Channel)
Stuart Grey (Official Website)
Of course, the problem of “space junk” in not a new and shiny problem. It has been a growing concern in scientific and engineering circles for decades. Here’s a link to a PSA from the ESA about it.
Dealing with space debris (ESA, YouTube)
Here’s a link to a related segment from the BBC.
Time to Take Out Space Trash (BBC Newsnight, YouTube)
Here’s a link to a fantastic article from the Washington Post that also provides more specifics about controversial subjects like “collisional cascading impacts” a.k.a. Kessler Syndrome (Wikipedia) and the CubeSats that are especially worrying to some space scientists and engineers.
If you are so inclined, you can track objects yourself at SATFLARE: Online Satellite and Flare Tracking. Space.com also maintains a site where you can track the Latest News About Space Junk and Orbital Debris.
If you think satellites are cool in general, then you might want to check out an app that Google Earth and Analytic Graphics Inc. made to track the positions of satellites around Earth. You can find out about the app on this blog post.
There’s even a whole site dedicated to Satellite News!
Finally, if you want to learn more about space and space travel, explore Space Depot!
Touch the 360° image to begin exploring, touch the objects and doors to enter virtual 360° experiences, and touch “i”s to learn about the experiences.
If you can’t see it, or it isn’t working, you can also see it directly on Kuula.
You can also choose your own adventure by clicking on the links below.
“Space”
Universe (Astronomical Instrument)
Galaxy Milky Way, Andromeda
Planetary System Star, Brown Dwarf, Planet, Moon
Our Neighborhood
Solar System Sun
Terrestrial Planet Mercury, Venus, Earth (Moon), Mars
Asteroid Belt Ceres, Vesta
Jovian Planet Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Trans-Neptunian Object
Kuiper Belt Pluto, Haumea, Makemake
Scattered Disc Eris, Sedna, Planet X
Oort Cloud Etc. Scholz’s Star
Small Body Comet, Centaur, Asteroid
Find out more about getting to space, uses for satellites, space and arts in general…
