A palm-sized Japanese satellite in orbit around Earth will flash
a Morse code message that will be visible around the world from
next month, the mission commander said Friday. Researchers hope
the satellite, measuring 10 centimetres (four inches) cubed and
launched from the International Space Station on Friday, will
become the first orbiter to transmit an LED message across the
night sky. The message was originally intended to be seen just
in Japan, but people around the world have asked for the
satellite to communicate when it overflies them, said Takushi
Tanaka, professor at The Fukuoka Institute of Technology.
"Requests came from far more people than I expected -- a man in
Silicon Valley wanted to see it while another man wanted us to
flash it over Central Park in New York," Tanaka told AFP by
telephone. He said he has also received requests from residents
of cities in Italy, Germany, Brazil, Britain and Hungary. "There
is no practical aim to this, but it is a fun experiment that
everybody can join," he s