Sun, Oct 22, 2006
Goal Is To Launch 100 Meter Ring And Projector/Comm Package
Into Low Orbit
Artist Joshua Gigantino
has a dream. He wants to put a sculpture 100 meters wide into low
orbit, and he wants you to fund it, one postcard at a time.
If this sounds crazy, you're not in the Las Cruces, New Mexico
airport today. Looking around the ramp, the idea appears to be tame
in comparison to what rocket scientists have brought to the
Cup.
Gigantino's idea is deceptively simple: launch a package into
orbit containing a "ring" made of Capton, a material similar to
Mylar but with a much higher tolerance from heat. Once the payload
weighing between 20 and 100 kilograms reaches its orbital height of
between 250 and 400 miles (some of these specs are still under
development, it will deploy and morph into a ring-shaped structure.
This structure will look much like a bicycle wheel, spokes and all,
and should be visible from the surface of the planet.
The center of the wheel will house a package containing an HDTV
camera, a display unit, communications equipment, reaction wheels
and a power system. The reaction wheels are similar to gyrodynes,
which produce small amounts of force through gyroscopic effect.
The HDTV camera will use the projection system and
communications gear to beam images down to an earth station. Images
of what, you ask?
Postcards! Gigantino's idea is to sell you the right to display
the contents of a nine inch square space on a postcard on a screen
in space, and then let you see the results on a web site. Here is
where the micropayment scheme comes into play -- you pay a
relatively small amount of money for each postcard you purchase for
display. The idea is not new -- recently the Nobel Peace Prize was
awarded to the owner of a bank which specialized in microloans to
low income applicants in Bangladesh.
What goes into the nine inch square area on the postcard is up
to you. Gigantino even plans to sell you a t-shirt with the image
of your postcard being displayed in space.
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