Russia's first crowd-funded satellite, named Mayak (Russian for "beacon of light"), promises to be the “brightest object in the night sky next to the Moon.”

Mayak
An artist's conception of Mayak in orbit.
CosmoMayak

The hunt is on. A Soyuz-2.1a rocket roared to life at the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 14th at 6:36 UT, lofting its main payload, the Kanopus-V-IK, Russia's newest Earth-observing satellite.

But Kanopus didn't launch alone. Hitching a ride to space were 72 smaller satellites (a record-breaking payload) headed for three separate orbits. Among them was Mayak (Russian for "beacon of light"), a CubeSat of particular interest to amateur astronomers and satellite spotters.

Mayak is Russia's first crowdfunded satellite. Built around a standard 3U cubesat body measuring 34 × 10 × 10 cm, Mayak was designed by engineering students at Moscow Polytechnic University. The satellite will test an aerodynamic braking system that could de-orbit satellites without using an engine, and it comes equipped with reflectors to provide data on the satellite's visibility and distance.

To that end, the satellite is set to deploy a large tetrahedron-shaped reflector. Each triangular face is 4 m² (43 ft²) in area and should be readily visible from the ground on a twilight pass. In fact, the team claims, Mayak will be the “brightest shooting star” once unfurled with an estimated magnitude of –10, so glints from it might be almost as bright as the full Moon. Mayak could be visible in bright twilight and perhaps even during daytime passes as well.

Roscosmos issued a brief statement Friday, noting that the launch was successful and listing the manifest  of satellites to be deployed. U.S. Joint Space Operations Command backed up that claim and assigned Mayak a NORAD tracking ID of 2017-042F/42830.

Fregat dispenser
An artist's depiction of the Fregat upper stage dispensing cubesats into orbit.
Glavcosmos

Finding Mayak

At this point, it isn't clear yet whether Mayak has successfully deployed its reflector. Your best bet is simply to go out and look for it.

The team has a tracking app named CosmoMayak, though it's only offered in Russian. Worldwide sat-spotters may do better using Heavens-Above, which put up a dedicated section for Mayak on their homepage last night. Orbiting Earth once every 97 minutes in a 587-by-605-km orbit, Mayak is in a retrograde Sun-synchronous, 97°-inclination orbit, typical for Earth-observing satellites. Current passes this week favor latitudes 40° to 50° north around midnight, optimal for observers in United Kingdom and northern Europe.

mayak orbit
The orbital trace of Mayak.
Orbitron

The plan is to fly Mayak in a stabilized mode for the first four weeks, then set it tumbling on all three axes, setting off a brilliant twinkling pattern. The team's site mentions using brightness estimations from Mayak to gather information about air density at high altitude and to calibrate brightness estimations for future satellites.

Once the reflector is deployed, both solar-wind pressure and atmospheric drag will accelerate the craft's reentry. Such devices might become a standard feature on future satellites, enabling them to de-orbit shortly after their mission ends rather than adding to the growing tally of space junk in low-Earth orbit. Nanosail-D2 tested a similar technology in 2011, and another mission recently dispatched from the International Space Station, InflateSail, is currently testing the same method.

Nanosail D2
Nanosail D2 over the Netherlands.
Dr. Marco Langbroek

If it's as bright as claimed, Mayak could surpass the brightness of the famed first generation of Iridium satellites, which routinely flare up to magnitude –8. Unfortunately, the second generation of Iridium satellites currently being deployed won't flare in the same fashion.

Is Mayak a good idea? One brilliant (and short-lived) satellite could be a great way to get the public out and looking up at the night sky.

“A sky literally littered with large numbers of these objects would not be a great idea, as it would interfere with night sky integrity,” says veteran satellite tracker Marco Langbroek. “But one or two of these objects as an experiment can not do much harm.”

A Japanese start-up named Star-ALE, for example, wants to create artificial meteor showers for customers starting in 2020. In fact, ideas for placing advertising in space date back to the 1980s, though thankfully, we do not have McDonald's or Pepsi logos drifting through the night sky just yet. True story: NASA and the U.S. Air Force actually studied the idea of using large reflectors placed in space to banish night during the Vietnam War, though this, too, never came to pass.

Mayak
Mayak unfurled in the lab.
CosmoMayak

The few satellite hunters with clear skies last night that we've heard from have all reported negative results so far, suggesting that either Mayak's reflector has yet to deploy, or it was deployed unsuccessfully. If you've got clear skies, take a look tonight and let us know what you see. We'll drop in a brief update to this post when better magnitude estimates come in.

Clear skies, and good luck on the satellite hunt!

Comments


Image of Richard-Lighthill

Richard-Lighthill

July 18, 2017 at 6:58 pm

Really, they are going to light pollute the skies even more with an object almost as bright as the moon?
What a stupid project! I am sure every astronomer is going to object!
And then create on-demand "meteor showers" for money?
Whose sky to they think this belongs to, their own personal canvas?

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Tom Hoffelder

Tom Hoffelder

July 19, 2017 at 9:19 am

The "good news" for now is that it would only bother an observing session at most once or twice for a few minutes. The bad news is that it is probably just the beginning. And eventually there could be enough of them that one would always be in the sky, and not just bright lights, but space billboards! Another reason to be glad I'm 70.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Tom Hoffelder

Tom Hoffelder

July 21, 2017 at 6:33 am

Maybe I should have read the article before I replied, since everything I said is in it. The part about artificial meteor showers is new to me and is making me feel ill.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of celeano444

celeano444

July 22, 2017 at 4:26 pm

I can't understand why anyone would comment on an article that they haven't even read?!?

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of

July 18, 2017 at 8:04 pm

I was looking for it last night when Heavens Above said it would be visible. Saw nothing. Glad to see an article about it without all the media hype. I'll try again tonight though and leave comment on what I see!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of David Dickinson

David Dickinson

July 19, 2017 at 8:40 am

Thanks, keep us updated. No confirmed sightings worldwide yet. Either the reflector hasn't deployed yet, or deployment was unsuccessful. Another possibility is that the reflectors are directional, and you have to be right in the path to see em. Worth watching for, though.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of

July 19, 2017 at 2:16 pm

Tried again last night, saw nothing. Beginning to wonder about it now...

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of wisscott

wisscott

July 23, 2017 at 10:34 pm

Saw Mayak on 21 and 22 July from Orange, CA. between 21:00 and 21:30
On 21st going due north--22nd going NNE . Brilliant all the way to horizon. -10 or better. Expect it to be NE tonite (23rd)

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of wisscott

wisscott

July 23, 2017 at 11:02 pm

Time stamp was 7:34 not 10:34
Pacific Daylight savings time

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of

July 18, 2017 at 8:08 pm

The satellite should pass here at 1:49 Danish summer time (GMT + 2) but it was not visible.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of lkral

lkral

July 20, 2017 at 5:04 am

I watched tonight's pass from Czech Republic (Central Europe). I did not see it by naked eye, but it is visible on a photo I took, although it is quite faint. But the time and position perfectly match the HeavensAbove prediction. From the photo, it was ca. 5-7 mag. It is not visible on following photos, so most of the time it was probably even fainter.
Photo here:
http://www.astro.cz/fotogalerie/ctenarske-fotogalerie/nejnovejsi-fotografie-ctenaru.html?id=4987
or on my Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=718884231651726&set=a.263825510490936.1073741827.100005904678447&type=3&theater

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Jim DeCamp

Jim DeCamp

July 21, 2017 at 11:23 am

Nice work! I am impressed that you did that with an RX100!, which is a truly marvelous little camera.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Curt

Curt

July 22, 2017 at 11:50 am

Probably like the Iridiums. Due to its flat reflecting surfaces you'd have to be in the right place at the right time to see it "shine."

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Tom Hoffelder

Tom Hoffelder

August 15, 2017 at 6:15 am

The Iridiums have one flat surface and the flares were a surprise. This thing was designed for the world to see and has four flat surfaces. But since they failed to deploy, we'll never know what it actually would look like during a pass.... until they launch the next one. http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-kanopus-v-ik/mayak-lighthouse-in-the-sky-fails-to-deploy-solar-reflector/

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Maxwellchanry19

Maxwellchanry19

September 24, 2021 at 1:20 pm

Did anyone see the massive light at the tail end of 2019 it was very visible midday southern California it mirrored the sun and with the almost completely blue sky shined for about 15 minutes.. the first confirmed time there has been a second light of day. There was about one or two clouds from the vantage point in southern California north Hollywood when it split a couple minutes in a cloud popped out of nowhere in between the split near the north Hollywood location and fell thru the sky the cloud leaving a trail picture perfect for the photo opp.. it was the most impressive natural spectical in the sky. Nasa has covered it up a little bit. It's strange something like that should have been on the news man's first space light. I heard that there was letters written to a Tracy at jpl in pasadena that where to crazy to believe and a suite 300 at palantir in Palo Alto.. I guess they had dis regarded them as something that could be dismissed it was such an impressive spectical of light and leads to all these larger questions ... Imagine seeing that backwards a light shooting itself into the sun. Did anyone catch it I guess it must be one of those conspiracya those gosh darn kids put on the internet

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of

July 20, 2017 at 10:28 am

"could be a great way to get the public out and looking up at the night sky",
...but for the wrong reason!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Bob

Bob

July 20, 2017 at 9:44 pm

No opinions at this time. I guess I am in a wait and see mode.

Bob Patrick
Kentucky

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of John

John

July 22, 2017 at 9:44 am

Sounds like the mid-60's Pageos satellite we tracked in orbit.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Curt

Curt

July 22, 2017 at 11:48 am

Boo! Hiss! Who needs it (Mayak)? Sounds like the bottom line is it has no relevant purpose actually beneficial to anyone.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Messican

Messican

July 23, 2017 at 8:42 am

I think I saw it last night (20170723) at about 1:50 AM. It was a brief flash in the area of sky predicted by Heavens Above. Because of tumbling I think it will not be a continuous visible streak like the ISS.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Jonf

Jonf

July 26, 2017 at 9:09 am

I saw this at about midnight, 24th/25th. I only found out what it was afterwards from the article above! It was extremely bright, constant across the sky and moving apparently faster than the ISS (about twice the speed?).

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Image of Tom Hoffelder

Tom Hoffelder

August 15, 2017 at 6:09 am

Mayak ‘Lighthouse in the Sky’ Fails to Deploy Solar Reflector

http://spaceflight101.com/soyuz-kanopus-v-ik/mayak-lighthouse-in-the-sky-fails-to-deploy-solar-reflector/

Interesting how people expecting to see something very bright sometimes do.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

You must be logged in to post a comment.