China Launching an Artificial Moon

[OgNasty]

http://time.com/5429288/china-chengdu-artificial-moon/

Not sure what to think about this.  Crazy times we're living in...  Space force, artificial moon, cryptocurrency...  Someone pinch me.

Thoughts?

[1715561042]

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[1715561042]

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[bluefirecorp_]

Perfect. Just think what sort of weapon that'd be if they were to focus all that light energy into a single beam. 

[o_e_l_e_o]

Two thoughts initially come to mind:

Firstly, there is no way you can have a geosynchronous orbit at 500km. At 500km above Earth's surface, as the article states, your orbital period is in the region of an hour and a half, meaning this satellite would orbit the Earth 15-16 times a day.

Secondly, street lights at night already play havoc with the local wildlife. Sea turtle hatchlings for example - their instinct is to follow the brightest light to reach the sea, which used to be the moon reflecting off the water. Now many of them die because instead they wander towards the towns and cities. Something like this could have devastating effects on the ecosystem.

[bigatenz]

Thoughts?

they made that to replace the street lights in that said region? nice advancement China , USA what next?

Btw maybe China have a hidden motive so they made that   , maybe that machine have a advance surveillance technology to scout neighboring countries , that is my conspiracy theory just kidding that is my opinion  

[theymos]

The Russians did something very similar in 1992: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Znamya_(satellite)

Seems like just a publicity stunt.

[Choco99]

Launching moon to Light Up the Night Skies  , Well China needs light because the population is exponentially expanding for them and if at night they have complete darkness then the traditional sex will go on...

[Quickseller]

This very well could be something other than its stated goal of lighting the sky in China. They say it will save ~$180 in annual lighting/electric costs, but what would they do when it is cloudy?

I speculate it’s true purpose is to either spy on their citizens or to interfere with other country’s spy satellites imaging China.

[Foxpup]

Firstly, there is no way you can have a geosynchronous orbit at 500km. At 500km above Earth's surface, as the article states, your orbital period is in the region of an hour and a half, meaning this satellite would orbit the Earth 15-16 times a day.

Nobody said anything about a synchronous orbit, or even a singular satellite. The plan actually involves a constellation of multiple satellites.

Secondly, street lights at night already play havoc with the local wildlife. Sea turtle hatchlings for example - their instinct is to follow the brightest light to reach the sea, which used to be the moon reflecting off the water. Now many of them die because instead they wander towards the towns and cities. Something like this could have devastating effects on the ecosystem.

The problem with streetlights (indeed, most artificial lighting) is that their light is omnidirectional. Since these satellites are mirrors reflecting sunlight in a narrow beam, they won't be visible at all outside the intended area of illumination.

I mean, it's still a crazy idea, but not quite as crazy as one might expect for something conceived of by a Bond villain.

[Flying Hellfish]

I mean, it's still a crazy idea, but not quite as crazy as one might expect for something conceived of by a Bond villain.

What about a giant magnifying glass instead of a mirror?  They could aim it at people and burn them like ants or aim them at solar panels!

[TBboys]

I mean, it's still a crazy idea, but not quite as crazy as one might expect for something conceived of by a Bond villain.

What about a giant magnifying glass instead of a mirror?  They could aim it at people and burn them like ants or aim them at solar panels!

If there is such a weapon, I think it might be stupid because you only need a mirror to reflect its energy and destroy it with reflected light.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Nobody said anything about a synchronous orbit, or even a singular satellite. The plan actually involves a constellation of multiple satellites.

If the orbit is not synchronous, then the mirror will spend only a tiny fraction of its time lighting up the intended target, and the majority of its time lighting up other places or nothing at all. I can't imagine the other countries in its path are going to be too happy about that, especially if it turns out to have significant impacts on wildlife. I certainly wouldn't be too happy about a massive spotlight passing over my house every hour and half every night.

There are obviously ways round this such as using propulsion to angle the mirror(s) away when not in right place, or closing and opening the mirrors as needed, but the article doesn't mention any of that. More information is needed.

[primer61]

"Artificial Moon" sounds way too pretentious for what it actually is, as moon is not only the source of light during nighttime. I bet there will be other usage for this project, orbital weapon placement comes to mind first.
 Btw isn`t adding more streetlights less expensive than building a one-of-a-kind satellite? This project seems like a giant statement that China is capable of doing anything, but at this point it has very little practical use.

[IndeecV]

Not bad. The first step towards the Dyson sphere.
I doubt this is a realistic project. Just because if it is light at night, then people will not be able to sleep properly. If there is too little light, then driving on roads will be difficult and dangerous. Rather, they make weapons under a strange pretext.

[darkangel11]

Let's hope that this moon won't end up falling on their heads or colliding with some of our communication satellites. During the cold war Russians also had big dreams and were launching tons of junk into space that was later crashing everywhere. Some of them are still doing it.
https://www.space.com/6322-nuclear-powered-soviet-satellite-acts.html

[Spendulus]

Nobody said anything about a synchronous orbit, or even a singular satellite. The plan actually involves a constellation of multiple satellites.

If the orbit is not synchronous, then the mirror will spend only a tiny fraction of its time lighting up the intended target, and the majority of its time lighting up other places or nothing at all. I can't imagine the other countries in its path are going to be too happy about that, especially if it turns out to have significant impacts on wildlife. I certainly wouldn't be too happy about a massive spotlight passing over my house every hour and half every night.

There are obviously ways round this such as using propulsion to angle the mirror(s) away when not in right place, or closing and opening the mirrors as needed, but the article doesn't mention any of that. More information is needed.

Well...

Start by assuming you have three mirrors in the same orbit at 120 degrees separation, and each is slowly rotating. Below each the Earth is rotating, at about 800 miles per hour. You are only interested in the interactions on the night side, the side opposite the sun.

A satellite's mirror is effective only when from that point one can see both the city and the Sun. From the point of view of someone in the city, another pops up over the horizon every thirty minutes, and the prior one is 60 degrees above the opposite horizon. Then the prior one is dark. The new one can provide angled light until it rises to the point where the sun goes behind the curve of the earth. Meanwhile the Earth is turning so each new one that pops above the horizon lights the city for fewer and fewer minutes.

Offhand seems to me you'd get a couple hours of dim light like until midnight and a couple more hours in the morning like that, but the dead of night would still be dark. It's simple trig to figure it out.

[philipma1957]

Hey guys  how can China do this isn't the earth flat?

the thread here says it is.


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1009045.0


and a 600 plus page thread must be right

[OgNasty]

Secondly, street lights at night already play havoc with the local wildlife. Sea turtle hatchlings for example - their instinct is to follow the brightest light to reach the sea, which used to be the moon reflecting off the water. Now many of them die because instead they wander towards the towns and cities. Something like this could have devastating effects on the ecosystem.

I think this is a great point and one can only speculate about all the unintended consequences of something like this.  I guess mankind's vision of the future doesn't include "wildlife" outside of zoos.

[Moloch]

Some people are worried about global warming... China is trying to reflect more sunlight onto the planet at night... brilliant

[FunGate]

Wu estimated that new moons could save the city of Chengdu around 1.2 billion yuan ($173 million) in electricity costs annually, and could even assist first responders during blackouts and natural disasters. If the project proves successful, it could be joined by three more additions to the night sky in 2022, he said.

The motivation is there, but I wonder what kind of effect this will have on human health. Artificial light exposure is already bad enough as it is for people's circadian rhythms, which are responsible for various aspects of well-being and not dying an early death. Unfortunately, money is still perceived as having more worth more than achieving collective well-being.

[Green_Bulb]

Some people are worried about global warming... China is trying to reflect more sunlight onto the planet at night... brilliant

I've been to Shanghai half a year ago, believe me - ecology in China is already screwed up. You just can't see the horizon from any location, it's completely obscured by smog. I don't think Chinese government cares about ecology at all.