A satellite secretly launched by a little rocket is expected to be 'the brightest thing in the night sky'
This was unexpected.
On Wednesday, the New Zealand rocket company Rocket Lab announced that it launched a secret satellite to space aboard the test flight of its Electron rocket over the weekend.
That satellite, known as the Humanity Star, "is expected to become the brightest thing in the night sky," Rocket Lab said in a statement.
The Humanity Star is shaped like a geodesic sphere and is designed to spin around and around, catching the light of the sun and reflecting it back down onto Earth.
Of course, Rocket Lab will need to wait for actual sightings of the satellite from the ground in order to confirm that it's working as expected.
If it works, the satellite won't always be brighter than the moon or the International Space Station, but Rocket Lab anticipates that occasionally people on the ground will be treated to a bright flash from it.
Think of it as a cosmic disco ball with a greater purpose.
“No matter where you are in the world, or what is happening in your life, everyone will be able to see the Humanity Star in the night sky," Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said in the statement.
"Our hope is that all those looking up at it will look past it to the vast expanse of the universe and think a little differently about their lives, actions and what is important for humanity."
The Humanity Star orbits Earth every 90 minutes, appearing above various parts of the planet each night.
Rocket Lab is planning to release the satellite's track so that people know when the Humanity Star will be visible above any given location.
The satellite is expected to stay in orbit for about nine months before it is pulled into Earth's atmosphere.
"For us to thrive and survive, we need to make big decisions in the context of humanity as a whole, not in the context of individuals, organisations or even nations," Beck said.
"The Humanity Star is a way of looking beyond our immediate situation, whatever that may be, and understanding we are all in this together as one species, responsible collectively for innovating and solving the challenges facing us all."
Rocket Lab, as a company, is built around the idea of creating small rockets that could launch small payloads to orbit for paying customers who can't necessarily wait to hitch rides on larger rockets that might be able to bring their wares to orbit alongside a larger payload.
You can learn more about the Humanity Star through its website.
Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
