At the beginning of January, a New Zealand private firm successfully launched the first payload to the Earth's orbit. Among 3 other satellites, the Electron rocket, owned by Rocket Lab, placed in orbit a structure called Humanity's Star.
The satellite, a ball with 65 facets made up of carbon fiber, will orbit Earth for 9 months. According to Science Alert, the object will reenter in to the atmosphere where it will disintegrate.
Until it's disintegration, Humanity's Star will be so bright that it will be possible to be witnessed by observers below without special equipment. The object will be visible in most part at dawn or dusk, creating an effect Rocket Lab likened on its website to a "bright flashing shooting star".
Rocket Lab's goal is nothing less than a reflection on the cosmos."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 seven billion other people on this planet we share this ride with," founder Peter Beck said in a statement on the company's website. The site hosts a location tracker for the orb.
The scientists described the Humanity Star as vandalism, a disco ball, "space graffiti" and "space garbage".
