ABOUT THE SATELLITE
The Skywheel will be a light, compact cylindrical satellite with a highly reflective metallic exterior, engraved with text and symbols from the many cultures of Earth. Inside, will be a vacuumized glass tube, containing a number of tiny spools, concentric with the axis of rotation. Wound around these spools will be thousands of prayers, mantras, and other sacred texts containing blessings from people around the world, and representing all the glorious diversity of our planet’s expressions of the sacred. The vaccuumized tube will envelop and protect this sacred text, to help prevent degredation and ensure its continued function over its lifespan of 1,000 years.
The Skywheel will be launched by rocket as a secondary payload, allowing it to travel
with another space mission, and minimizing environmental impact. It will disengage from the rocket at a lower altitude and itself become a spaceship, using small booster engines to increase its altitude to 1,000 kilometers above the Earth.
The Skywheel will then establish a sun synchronous orbit, allowing it to travel in a regular cycle, passing directly over every location on our planet. Like a traditional prayer wheel, the satellite will spin slowly clockwise as it revolves around the Earth, radiating blessings as it spins. Designed to be visible at twilight with the naked eye or a low powered telescope in areas of low light pollution, the Skywheel will remain in orbit for a cycle of over 1,000 years, where it may serve as a focal point for a united vision of healing for our planet.
Of the more than 26,000 human made objects launched into space during the last half-century, the Skywheel satellite will be one of very few to be placed in orbit without motivation for profit, power, or prowess. It is a gift for the world, by the world, to the world. Having evolved at the intersection of science, art, and every day life, it is truly a meeting point for the personal, the sacred and the global.