Orbital Reflector | |
---|---|
Artist | Trevor Paglen |
Year | 2018 |
Website | www |
Orbital Reflector is a reflective, mylar sculpture by Trevor Paglen launched into space as a temporary satellite. Co-produced by the Nevada Museum of Art, the $1.3 million project had the objective of being the first "purely artistic" object in space. The satellite, containing an inflatable mylar balloon with reflective surface, launched into space 3 December 2018.
Orbital Reflector launched on Monday, December 3, at 10:34 a.m. EST on board the SpaceX Spaceflight SSO-A: SmallSat Express. [1]
Originally it was expected to remain in orbit for three months, after which it would disintegrate upon reentry to the Earth's atmosphere. However, the deployment was delayed by the 2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown — by the time the 35-day shutdown had ended, the museum's engineers had lost contact with the satellite, the electronics and hardware of which "were not hardened for long-term functionality in space". [2] [3]
It became lost in orbit, constituting space junk. [ citation needed ]
A space telescope or space observatory is a telescope in outer space used to observe astronomical objects. Suggested by Lyman Spitzer in 1946, the first operational telescopes were the American Orbiting Astronomical Observatory, OAO-2 launched in 1968, and the Soviet Orion 1 ultraviolet telescope aboard space station Salyut 1 in 1971. Space telescopes avoid several problems caused by the atmosphere, including the absorption or scattering of certain wavelengths of light, obstruction by clouds, and distortions due to atmospheric refraction such as twinkling. Space telescopes can also observe dim objects during the daytime, and they avoid light pollution which ground-based observatories encounter. They are divided into two types: Satellites which map the entire sky, and satellites which focus on selected astronomical objects or parts of the sky and beyond. Space telescopes are distinct from Earth imaging satellites, which point toward Earth for satellite imaging, applied for weather analysis, espionage, and other types of information gathering.
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