Controversial satellite’s sudden death
Let’s hope it is not an ill omen. The controversial satellite put into space by Rocket Lab in January in an attempt to inspire and unite humanity will burn up prematurely, within days.
The ‘‘Humanity Star’’, which had no function other than to be looked at and which was likened to a disco ball, was expected to stay in orbit for nine months.
But it will soon burn up on re-entry, leaving no trace, the United States rocket company founded by New Zealander Peter Beck said.
Rocket Lab spokeswoman Morgan Bailey said the Humanity Star and three tiny commercial satellites were all put into the right orbit after they were launched from New Zealand’s Ma¯hia Peninsula in January.
The commercial satellites, which are about the size of shoeboxes, were performing as expected, she said.
But the drag on the much larger and less dense Humanity Star from the thin atmosphere of low orbit had been greater than expected, causing its early demise.
‘‘It comes down to the fact that no-one has put anything into space quite like that before. The modelling we did on the ground didn’t match how it performed in space,’’ Morgan said.
The Humanity Star was criticised by some astronomers and others, who questioned the right of the privately owned firm to use the night sky to make a statement on behalf of humanity.
Former economic development minister Simon Bridges had the job of approving all rocket payloads prior to the September election and gave it the required go-ahead.
Current Economic Development Minister David Parker refused in February to say whether he would have made the same decision.
Beck said his hope had been to encourage people to linger looking at the stars and ‘‘ponder our place in the universe’’.
‘‘While the Humanity Star was a brief moment in human history, I hope the conversations and ideas it sparked around the world will continue to be explored.’’
Rocket Lab ruled out a second humanity star in February after Beck previously said during a television interview that it would ‘‘wait and see’’.