U.S. Bans Billboard Ads In Space

[schplurg]

Short Story (http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/05/20/space.advertising.reut/index.html)

For instance, outsized billboards deployed by a space company into low Earth orbit could appear as large as the moon and be seen without a telescope, the FAA said. Big and bright advertisements might hinder astronomers.

"Large advertisements could destroy the darkness of the night sky," regulators said.
I'm posting this in science rather than the political forum because I'm interested in learning how a billboard in low orbit could be visible from Earth...how large it would need to be, materials used.

Anyone here ever heard of this? How would YOU do it?

Me, I'd just spraypaint the moon. Of course the whole message wouldn't be visible very often, hmmm......

[Solitaire]

Originally posted by schplurg
I'm interested in learning how a billboard in low orbit could be visible from Earth...

Well the moon is 3.5 megameters in diameter and 400 megameters away.
So the billboard need be 3.5 kilometers long and 400 kilometers away.
Aluminum and some paint... The cost though is through the roof! :D

[Achán hiNidráne]

Speaking as a big-time laissez faire capitalist, even I think that parking billboards in orbit is a bad idea. Things are cluttered enough up there is as, what with the amount of satellites and space junk floating about.

There are lot of profitable space ventures that the private sector should attempt. Commercials in space shouldn't be one of them. Let's leave room for real entrepreneurs of the future, not the posers.

[schplurg]

I also don't see how such an ad could be cost effective. The whole idea seems rather silly to me...which of course is why our gov felt the need to spend some time and money on the issue.

Hmmm, I Googled and found that a company called Space Marketing is actually proposing such an ad. I'm too tired to look into it further though.