Peace on Earth, Peace off Earth, Peace with Earth
The Space Peace Star Description
The symbolic form of the Space Peace Star
Throughout history, symbols have been used as powerful means of communication which work on the sub-conscious level, often going unnoticed by the conscious mind. Their power to communicate has been recognized since the beginning of human civilization. The design of the Space Peace Star is a circle divided by a quadrant in its center. This symbolic form is the Greek astronomical symbol of planet Earth and also an ancient and universal symbol found in many cultures such as the main ceremonial and sacred symbol - the medicine wheel - used by the American Indians, as well as the basis for their geometry and architecture.
Technically, The Space Peace Star will consist of an inflatable torus and four spokes connected equidistantly along the sculpture which will divide the spacecraft into quadrants. These spokes may support photovoltaic elements which will supply the space craft will electrical power. Suspended in the center will be a sphere decorated to represent planet Earth. Contained in this sphere will be a digital record of the many art works, messages and signatures contributed by those who participated in making the Space Peace Starpossible. The deployment in the space environment will be televised to the world audience and this will be coordinated with activities around the globe such as concerts and theater events. It is intended that in the Space Peace Star will be large enough to be visible to the naked eye.
In a prior technological study commissioned by ESA in 2003 and carried out by the authors, calculated the visibility and lifetime estimates for similar sized reflective objects. The expectation in that study was that objects some 100m in size on orbits higher than 600 km would be visible to viewers on Earth. The study determined that such objects could reach -4.4 magnitude at a slant range from a 760-km orbit and an equivalent lifetime estimate comes to some 24 days. To contain the mass of the object, the target magnitude was decreased to -4 in the initial orbit: as the object's orbit decays, it will become necessarily more brilliant.
As a visibility reference, a Space Peace Star with a diameter of 100m and a magnitude of -4.4 can be compared to the International Space Station (ISS) which is 52 m long, 27.4 m high and 73 m wide and is easily visible to the naked eye. Due to its irregular shape and position relative to the horizon the magnitude of the ISS varies considerably. As seen in the table below which charts the visibility of the ISS over Zurich, Switzerland in the period of October 24-30, 2013 the magnitude varies between 0.1 and -3.3 (the larger the negative number the brighter the object.
See also:
Inflatable Technologies for Sculpture in Earth Orbit
