First ever artwork sent into orbit is missing

19

View
comments

The first ever artwork to have been sent into space has now officially been lost as a result of the US government shutdown.

The Nevada Museum of Art sent a sculpture called the 'Orbital Reflector' up to space in SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket along with other small satellites in early December. 

It was designed to eject from its satellite and open into a diamond-shaped balloon that would reflect sunlight back to Earth and be visible to the naked eye. 

But during the six-week shutdown, there was a lack of communication to keep track of the satellite and they could not get the go-ahead to inflate the balloon.

Many federal employees ranging from NASA scientists to the Federal Communications Commission were put on full or partial leave during the period.

As a result, by the time the government resumed 35 days later, all communications with the satellite had been lost. 

Scroll down for video

Designed by US artist Trevor Paglen, the project idea was to turn the sky into a cosmic art gallery for a few months. 

Once in orbit, Orbital Reflector was intended to appear regularly in the sky as a fast moving 'star' before disintegration following re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.  

In 2015, Mr Paglen partnered with the Nevada Museum of Art to undertake the £1.1 million artwork.

The ambitious project involved launching a satellite known as a CubeSat, which is around the size of a shoebox, into space carrying a balloon. 

The one hundred-foot-long balloon was set to unfurl and expand into a sculpture once it had drifted away from the other satellites.   

Eighteen days after Orbital Reflector was deployed into orbit, US President Donald Trump initiated the longest government shutdown in the country's history.

It occurred when Congress and the President could not agree over Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a US Mexico border wall.