A Company Wants To Send Satellites Into Space And Beam Adverts To Earth

Ever been sat staring at the night sky and thought, 'This is good but what would make it absolutely perfect is if there was a huge McDonald's sign beaming down at me'...?

Well, if the answer is yes, your prayers could be about to be answered. If a marketing firm gets its idea approved, that is - controversial plans from a Russian firm would see adverts emblazoned across the night sky.

Dozens and dozens of tiny little satellites would be shot into space, and hanging just a few hundred kilometres above Earth, would be arranged in order to suit the needs of the people the company is targeting with its adverts.

The firm behind the futuristic idea, StartRocket, wants to send hundreds of briefcase-sized Cubesats into the atmosphere.

But the ads wouldn't be powered by electricity; the clever devices would use light reflected from the sun and so would only be visible at dawn and dusk.

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According to reports, every satellite would use a massive reflective sail to form a single part of the advert or display.

StartRocket estimates the advert would measure about 50km across and would be used for six minutes, several times a day.

Vlad Sitnikov, project leader at StartRocker, told Futurism: "We are ruled by brands and events - the Super Bowl, Coca Cola, Brexit, the Olympics, Mercedes, FIFA, Supreme and the Mexican wall.

"The economy is the blood system of society. Entertainment and advertising are at its heart.

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"We will live in space, and humankind will start delivering its culture to space. The more professional and experienced pioneers will make it better for everyone."

The ambitious is reported to want to send its first orbital display up into space by 2020.

But not everyone is as excited by the idea, however, with some in the astronomical world disturbed by the idea of corporations sending satellites into space.

John Barentine of the International Dark Sky Association told Astronomy.com: "It's a threat to the ability to do astronomical research from the ground.

"Every one of those moving blips of light in the night sky is something that can interfere with our ability to collect photons from astronomical sources."

However, this would not be the first time the idea of 'space entertainment' has been broached, with a Japanese company having already launched a satellite into space to create an artificial meteor shower, and China is also believed to have looked at creating an artificial moon.

Topics: World News, UK News, Interesting, US News, Technology

Dominic Smithers

Dominic graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History. Like you, Dom has often questioned how much use a second language has been. Well, after stints working at the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express, along with never setting foot in France, he realised the answer is surprisingly little. But I guess, c'est la vie. Contact us at [email protected]

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