Officials in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, have unveiled a science fiction-like plan to launch what’s known as an illumination satellite, or “artificial moon,” in two years. Local newspapers reported that the illumination satellite would be designed to complement the moon at night, with its own brightness eight times that of the earth’s natural satellite, and “bright enough to replace street lights in the city.” The satellite would be able to light an area with a diameter of 10 to 80 kilometers, while the precise illumination range can be controlled within a few dozen meters, according to the People’s Daily, which quoted a developer with the Chengdu Aerospace Science and Technology Microelectronics System Research Institute as saying. The paper added that testing the illumination satellite started years ago and all the technology and design had been finalized. The man-made moon has a highly reflective coating to reflect light from the sun with solar panel-like wings whose angles can be adjusted to realize “precise lighting.” The 14,300-square-meter city of Chengdu would be the primal focus of the light from the man-made moon, and astronomers throughout China and overseas should be able to spot the glowing star at night. But no further specifications of the spacecraft, or its launch date, were available. Chengdu officials expect the city to reel in more tourists when the artificial moon is up and shining.
Curious how it's going to look when finished. Will it look like the Starwars Deathstar? Would they put some advertisements on it? Or are they going to make a giant smiley face. Maybe make it play a video or animation. This is bad I hope they fail.
China Launching Artificial Moon Into Space to Replace Street Lights, Seriously
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Subject: China Launching Artificial Moon Into Space to Replace Street Lights, Seriously 
