Block this: Scientists show how satellite advertising could be economically viable
(2022/10/06)
- Reference: 1665066607
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/10/06/space_advertising/
- Source link:
"Space: the final frontier" – not just for humanity but also marketeers, it would seem, as Russian scientists have undertaken a feasibility study on satellite-based advertising. They conclude that not only is it possible, but it could also turn a profit.
Dismissing ad opportunities or sponsorships tied to serious space missions, the boffins from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology said:
What we propose to consider is a dedicated space system. A long-term space advertising mission would rely on a complex satellite system orbiting the Earth and demonstrating pixel images to observers on the ground. In this case, an advertisement appears as a constellation of bright artificial stars formed into an image that can be observed in clear night sky for several minutes.
The tl;dr of [1]the paper – "Satellite Formation Flying for Space Advertising: From Technically Feasible to Economically Viable" – is to send up a constellation of about 50 12U-cubesats and place them in a Sun-synchronous low-Earth orbit so that they are always in direct sunlight.
Each small satellite (about 20cm x 20cm x 34.05cm and weighing around 6-8kg) would then deploy solar reflectors, bouncing that sunlight down onto consumers. These satellites could be programmed to assume certain formations – like, perish the thought, "I'm lovin' it" – that change depending on the city below and the advertiser willing to shell out for that prime real estate we know as the sky.
The scientists note that similar campaigns have been considered several times in the past, such as the Eiffel Tower centennial in 1989 or the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, but both "were to be devoted to a single event and relied on a space structure rather than on a satellite formation to display the graphics." Nowadays, SpaceX's Starlink constellation can often be spotted by the naked eye as a peculiarly uniform line of lights drifting across the night sky – the bane of astronomers everywhere.
[2]
So we know that space advertising is technically possible, and the paper provides loads of knotty equations and diagrams on the hows and whys of paraboloid diffusive reflectors, optimal orbit height, coverage, and so on.
[3]Satellite operators want option to exceed deorbiting rules
[4]China can destroy US space assets, Space Force ops nominee warns
[5]OneWeb takes $229m hit from satellites not returned by Russia
[6]Startup wants to build a space station that refuels satellites by 2025
But with space missions costing multiple millions, is it economically viable? Unfortunately, the answer appears to be yes, and much of the paper is dedicated to showing how. The boffins estimate, based on prior examples, the cost of manufacturing the satellites to be $48.7 million; testing, support and engineering comes in at $11.5 million; and launch itself $4.5 million – so we're looking at $65 million to have everything in place.
Since prime-time spots during major televised sporting events also cost multiple millions, the scientists seem willing to bet that the novelty of the message delivery would attract substantial cash.
[7]
"A mission demonstrating images with magnitude of individual pixels ... has the payback period of 33.7 days, while a formation operating for 91.5 days ... can perform 24 image demonstrations within the lifetime, meaning 24 potential contractors for the mission with a net income of about $111.6 million."
$111 million, over three months, and 24 displays – $4.6 million an ad. Now look at what some companies [8]are actually willing to spend . The most expensive TV spot is during Super Bowl, where 30 seconds can cost $9 million, but Google and Amazon have each shelled out a stonking $23.5 million.
[9]
Now the sky billboard is starting to look like an ever more attractive proposition. Would such companies want to risk their reputation by making hiding indoors the only way to avoid their marketing? Arguably, they've already done much, much worse. ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/9/8/419/htm
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yz77nWJx@cS1nqKipBEgMgAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/22/satellite_deorbiting_waivers/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/16/china_working_to_destroy_us/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/05/oneweb_takes_229m_hit_from/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/31/space-station-refueling/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yz77nWJx@cS1nqKipBEgMgAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/9-million-for-30-seconds-most-expensive-super-bowl-ads-012256123.html
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yz77nWJx@cS1nqKipBEgMgAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Dismissing ad opportunities or sponsorships tied to serious space missions, the boffins from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology and Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology said:
What we propose to consider is a dedicated space system. A long-term space advertising mission would rely on a complex satellite system orbiting the Earth and demonstrating pixel images to observers on the ground. In this case, an advertisement appears as a constellation of bright artificial stars formed into an image that can be observed in clear night sky for several minutes.
The tl;dr of [1]the paper – "Satellite Formation Flying for Space Advertising: From Technically Feasible to Economically Viable" – is to send up a constellation of about 50 12U-cubesats and place them in a Sun-synchronous low-Earth orbit so that they are always in direct sunlight.
Each small satellite (about 20cm x 20cm x 34.05cm and weighing around 6-8kg) would then deploy solar reflectors, bouncing that sunlight down onto consumers. These satellites could be programmed to assume certain formations – like, perish the thought, "I'm lovin' it" – that change depending on the city below and the advertiser willing to shell out for that prime real estate we know as the sky.
The scientists note that similar campaigns have been considered several times in the past, such as the Eiffel Tower centennial in 1989 or the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, but both "were to be devoted to a single event and relied on a space structure rather than on a satellite formation to display the graphics." Nowadays, SpaceX's Starlink constellation can often be spotted by the naked eye as a peculiarly uniform line of lights drifting across the night sky – the bane of astronomers everywhere.
[2]
So we know that space advertising is technically possible, and the paper provides loads of knotty equations and diagrams on the hows and whys of paraboloid diffusive reflectors, optimal orbit height, coverage, and so on.
[3]Satellite operators want option to exceed deorbiting rules
[4]China can destroy US space assets, Space Force ops nominee warns
[5]OneWeb takes $229m hit from satellites not returned by Russia
[6]Startup wants to build a space station that refuels satellites by 2025
But with space missions costing multiple millions, is it economically viable? Unfortunately, the answer appears to be yes, and much of the paper is dedicated to showing how. The boffins estimate, based on prior examples, the cost of manufacturing the satellites to be $48.7 million; testing, support and engineering comes in at $11.5 million; and launch itself $4.5 million – so we're looking at $65 million to have everything in place.
Since prime-time spots during major televised sporting events also cost multiple millions, the scientists seem willing to bet that the novelty of the message delivery would attract substantial cash.
[7]
"A mission demonstrating images with magnitude of individual pixels ... has the payback period of 33.7 days, while a formation operating for 91.5 days ... can perform 24 image demonstrations within the lifetime, meaning 24 potential contractors for the mission with a net income of about $111.6 million."
$111 million, over three months, and 24 displays – $4.6 million an ad. Now look at what some companies [8]are actually willing to spend . The most expensive TV spot is during Super Bowl, where 30 seconds can cost $9 million, but Google and Amazon have each shelled out a stonking $23.5 million.
[9]
Now the sky billboard is starting to look like an ever more attractive proposition. Would such companies want to risk their reputation by making hiding indoors the only way to avoid their marketing? Arguably, they've already done much, much worse. ®
Get our [10]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/9/8/419/htm
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Yz77nWJx@cS1nqKipBEgMgAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/22/satellite_deorbiting_waivers/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/16/china_working_to_destroy_us/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/05/oneweb_takes_229m_hit_from/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/31/space-station-refueling/
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yz77nWJx@cS1nqKipBEgMgAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/9-million-for-30-seconds-most-expensive-super-bowl-ads-012256123.html
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Yz77nWJx@cS1nqKipBEgMgAAAMQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Phil O'Sophical
Is it bad that my first thought was "someone will hack these, and use them to display pr0n" ?
Arthur the cat
The article says 50 12U cubesats. Even if each one can do a 3x4 grid that's not many pixels. Seems like a return to line printer graphics rather than Full HD.
Anonymous Coward
I'm pretty sure that even Russian scientists can find/have better things to do than creating astral adverts, which they will almost certainly be hatred for. If there passing aliens wonder what wiped out the human race, they'll find it wasn't from the invasion of ukraine/taiwan that led to nuclear but instead some wankateer who thought it was a good idea to have adverts in space.
Coming soon from an advertiser near you, or maybe not near you...
Marty McFly
Fry : So, you're telling me they broadcast commercials into people's dreams?.. But how is that possible?
Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth : It's very simple. The ad gets into your brain just like this liquid gets into this egg. Although in reality it's not liquid, but gamma radiation.
Fry : That's awful. It's like brainwashing.
Leela : Didn't you have ads in the 20th century?
Fry : Well, sure, but not in our dreams. Only on TV and radio, and in magazines, and movies, and at ball games, and on buses, and milk cartons, and T-shirts, and bananas, and [1]written on the sky ... But not in dreams.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0584425/characters/nm0005408
Queue a hacked comedy knob.
Conyn Curmudgeon
O
| |
( ) ( )
Tubz
We have enough crap floating around the planet without letting the
Targeted advertising
Wouldn't this only be visible to humans on planet Earth ?
We feel that this might be too micro-targeted for our brand's needs
Yours insincerely
Marketing Dept
Sirius cybernetics Corporation
***** Go Stick Your Head In A Pig ********************