[meteorite-list] OT: Billboards In Space?

[Sterling K. Webb]

Hi,

    Interesting news item that raises more questions than it answers.
Is somebody planning to orbit a billboard?  How long has there been a
law that "prohibits obtrusive advertising in zero gravity"?  And who
thought we needed such a law?  And if there's already a law against an
certain act, why then is there no authority to enforce it?  Is somebody
else authorized to enforce it?  If the law prohibits obtrusive
advertising in zero gravity, is it then legal to orbit unobtrusive
advertising in zero gravity, like a small tasteful Coca-Cola moon?  If
Richard Branson builds the Virgin Orbital Hotel, does this mean it can't
have a neon sign? The mind boggles...

Sterling K. Webb

<http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=8548396>

US says no billboards in space
Thu May 19, 2005 03:46 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government does not want billboards in
space. The Federal Aviation Administration proposed on Thursday to amend
its regulations to ensure that it can enforce a law that prohibits
"obtrusive" advertising in zero gravity.
    "Objects placed in orbit, if large enough, could be seen by people
around the world for long periods of time," the FAA said in a regulatory
filing.
    Currently, the FAA lacks the authority to enforce the existing law.
    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.