A huge mirror ball 'Humanity Star' that can be seen with the naked eye from the surface of the earth is launched and is orbiting the earth



It was announced that a huge mirror ball with a diameter of about 1 meter, which was mounted on a rocket launched by rocket development company

Rocket Lab from New Zealand, was put into an orbit around the earth. This mirror ball ' Humanity Star ' flies around the earth in 90 minutes, and at night it reflects the sun's rays and shines brightly so that it can be observed with the naked eye from the surface of the earth.

The Humanity Star
http://www.thehumanitystar.com/

Rocket Lab Electron put their own 'Humanity Star' into orbit — Quartz
https://qz.com/1187991/rocket-lab-electron-private-rocketeers-put-their-own-humanity-star-into-orbit/

Rocket Lab launched a mirror ball 'Humanity Star' with a diameter of about 1 meter made of 65 mirrors. The material is made of carbon fiber, and it is made so that it can shine brightly in outer space by reflecting sunlight with a mirror on the surface.



Rocket Lab is a company founded by Peter Beck from New Zealand in Los Angeles, USA. On January 21, 2018, the company

launched its first electron rocket in New Zealand and succeeded. This rocket was equipped with multiple artificial satellites, but in fact, the Humanity Star was mounted in it, and it was put into the same low earth orbit as the International Space Station along with other artificial satellites. it was done.




'I was dissatisfied with the fact that people didn't understand where they lived in space,' said Beck of Rocket Lab, the creator of Humanity Star. We are a species that lives on large rocks. The Humanity Star is not just a small perspective around us, but a reminder that we are living together as a species. '



On the Rocket Lab

website , you can see the trajectory forecast map and real-time position of the Humanity Star. Although it is not always visible due to the relationship between the earth's day and night and the sun, the map shows the points where you can actually see the Humanity Star with solid lines.



According to expectations, the Humanity Star can be seen flying over Japan and shining in the vicinity of Tokyo, 41 days after January 26, 2018, that is, March, 2018. It seems that it will be around the 8th. If the sky is clear that night, there seems to be a chance to see it, but Humanity Star will fly away from the night sky in just 1 minute 30 seconds, so wait for the arrival while carefully monitoring the map on the day. There seems to be a need.



Since the Humanity Star is an artificial satellite launched without prior notice, that is, it was launched with a sneak peek, it seems that the permission of the competent authority has not been obtained at all. In addition, Humanity Star orbits the earth in 90 minutes, but it is expected that the speed and altitude will gradually decrease in the future, and about 9 months after orbit insertion, it will re-enter the atmosphere and burn out. It seems that it is scheduled to be closed.

By the way, Rocket Lab had a successful rocket launch test in May 2017. You can see the state of the rocket that the parts output by the 3D printer were also put in the following article.

Private rocket company 'Rocket Lab' succeeds in launch test of small and lightweight rocket that outputs engine with 3D printer --GIGAZINE



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in Hardware, Posted by darkhorse_log