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| From SciAm, an astronomically bad idea. ‘Space Advertising’ Could Outshine the Stars—Unless It’s Banned First  Astronomers are racing to protect the dark skies as private companies seek to place large advertisements in Earth orbit Yes, I know there are worse things going on: human trafficking, slavery, rape, murder, war, celebrity gossip (to name but a few). That doesn't stop me from hating this as well. Imagine stepping outside to stargaze on a clear summer night, only to see no stars but rather the garish glow of advertisements streaming across the sky. As usual, science fiction came up with this first. The dystopia subgenre, anyway. This seemingly science-fictional scenario isn’t actually implausible: private companies are inching closer to launching swarms of tiny maneuverable satellites to create billboardlike displays big and bright enough to be seen from the ground. Just when you think we've reached peak capitalism, something like this gets floated. It's one thing to loft satellites up there to broadcast shows and provide internet connectivity, both of which result in a barrage of ads. But they're optional ads. You don't have to tune in or connect, and you can remain blissfully ad-free. This, however, would be inescapable, unless you just stay inside all the time. The suddenly all-too-real prospect of large-scale space advertising prompted Piero Benvenuti, former general secretary of the International Astronomical Union, to raise the issue in February during a subcommittee meeting of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), the United Nations body that governs the use of space for peace, security and development. Speaking of internet connectivity, astronomers are already bitching about Starlink satellite constellations, which tend to be bright and get in the way of observations. Starlink (whatever your opinion of its company's CEO) at least serves a useful function, in theory, providing internet access in remote locations. This? This would serve no useful function to anyone who isn't doing the actual advertising (and even then, it's questionable). “There is absolutely no reason why you should use space in such a useless way to advertise commercials,” Benvenuti says. Well, I wouldn't say "absolutely no reason." Obviously, someone thinks there's a reason, and that reason is money. In 2020 Russia granted Avant Space a patent for a laser-based technology to project messages, logos and other images for advertisers onto the sky. Hey, look, actual space lasers. And they're not Jewish. Their vision, Sitnikov says, is “to prove that space is not just for scientists, not just for the military—it is entertainment, too. And people like entertainment.” It depends on the entertainment. I don't consider ads entertainment. I consider them an interruption of my entertainment. Yes, on occasion, there are entertaining commercials, but they are exceptions. In 2000 such concerns helped to spur the U.S. Congress to pass a federal law that banned the issuance of launch licenses to companies for the purpose of ferrying payloads for obtrusive space advertising. That's nice and all, but at my last count, there were at least six countries and one European Union with their own space capability, and the US is only one of them. This region of space around Earth is home to thousands of defunct rocket stages, dead satellites and discarded hardware that all zip around our planet at dangerously high speeds. On the plus side, maybe this orbital debris can finally have a good purpose: destroying the ad lasers. But, as the article notes, such collisions would create even more debris. In case you can't tell, I'm completely against this idea. I hate ads to begin with, and appreciate astronomy (not to mention the simple beauty of the night sky, which is hard enough to see from most places now). Hey, maybe the US Space Force can finally get something to do: take down the ads. |
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