SpaceX may launch a satellite to display billboards in space
What's the one thing that you associate with commercialization? Well, advertisements! Taking that thought a notch higher (quite literally), SpaceX has joined hands with Canadian research and development firm Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC) to put a fancy digital billboard in space. According to GEC, one would be able to pay for the advertisements in cryptocurrency. The launch is slated for early-2022. Here's more.
CubeSat will sport a pixelated display for ads, artwork
Although he hasn't spoken directly to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk yet, GEC co-founder and CEO Samuel Reid told Business Insider that GEC has been pursuing SpaceX on this matter since 2018. Talks have finally materialized and Reid claims that GEC is currently building a satellite called CubeSat, one side of which will have a pixelated display screen for advertisements, logos, and art.
Selfie stick will film, live-stream display's image on YouTube, Twitch
The CubeSat will hitch a ride into orbit with SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket before the latter reaches the moon. Once injected into orbit, a selfie stick attached to CubeSat will deploy and live-stream whatever is on the aforementioned display to YouTube or Twitch on Earth. Individuals/organizations will have to buy tokens to define the location and color of each pixel on CubeSat's display.
Advertisers will be able to purchase tokens to configure pixels
The advertiser can choose from five different tokens— Beta for the X coordinate, Rhoe for the Y coordinate, Gamma for the brightness, Kappa for the color, and XI for the time that these settings would be in effect. Beta and Rhoe define where the pixel would be placed while Gamma and Kappa define what it would look like.
Ethereum payments for pixels for now, maybe Dogecoin later?
People will be able to purchase these tokens using Ethereum when the satellite launches. However, in the future, GEC hopes to support Dogecoin transactions as well. Reid didn't reveal the cost of developing CubeSat or the cost of configuring each pixel on it. In fact, the resolution of the display, its pixel density, and other details about CubeSat are also unknown for now.
Earlier this year, Musk stopped accepting cryptocurrency payments for Tesla
Although SpaceX could be involved just for CubeSat's launch, earlier this year, Musk had discontinued cryptocurrency payments for Tesla cars citing environmental concerns. We wonder what changed his mind about this project. Reid told Business Insider, "I'm trying to achieve something that can democratize access to space and allow for decentralized participation. Hopefully, people don't waste money on something inappropriate, insulting, or offensive."
