The Final Frontier

Next year Hojun Song will launch a "controllable shooting star" into low earth orbit. Though he has a graduate degree in engineering, Song defines himself as an artist, treating "technology as texture". Whatever he is, he's a captivating presenter. Last week his talk at Wieden and Kennedy was half technical details, and half was the existential musings of a 31 year-old dude with long hair, hipster specs, and a highly unusual dream.

Song's vision is best captured in one poignant slide. It's a hand-drawn sketch of a stick figure -- presumably himself -- grinning wide, eyes shut, antenna in hand. He stands atop earth, super-sized, in the beatific bliss of a child on Christmas morning. Beside him are the words, "Hello, my satellite!!" One of Song's ultimate fantasies is to be able to correspond with a handmade G.O.D. (That's Global Orbiting Device, a deliberately chosen acronym reflective of the artist's aching, existential questions.)



"I'm just so curious about why we're here," he said, explaining his motivations for spending over 5 years working toward launching a 1-kilogram cube-shaped hunk of metal and LED lights into space.

"What happens when we can all talk about the universe? Like how people are all talking about the Big Bang or Big Rip theory. What if we can see the world from a different perspective, so it's not just talking about icons and Facebook, etc.?"

Song probably spends little time on Facebook. While the average Shanghai inbox is gets crammed with Viagara ads, invites to black-tie galas, and ads for clubs full of models bathing in champagne…Hojun Song says his spam is frequently from foreign countries offering massive, ultra-powerful rockets. Obtaining rockets affordably and from a decent supplier "is the barrier" he says. Conversely, build-your-own satellite kits can be ordered online, are relatively cheap, and small enough to carry under one arm. Picture an average toolbox -- that size.



"The price goes by the weight, just like meat," Song reports. You can get the basic materials for as low as 200 to 300 dollars. "It's so funny watching people, each with their satellites under their arms," he says, recalling a gathering of satellite enthusiasts in the US. "People were saying, like 'Don't forget your satellite!'" as if you could easily misplace this space-ready high-tech device, as you might leave a folded umbrella at your seat in a movie theater.

The cost of the actual launch is steep, but Song thinks it's as worthwhile as any other luxury investment. To put it in perspective, he gives an example: "You can buy a Porsche or a Mercedes, or, if you want, you can launch a satellite." He estimates the cost to be roughly 60,000 Euros. While that's still a prohibitively high price tag for most invididuals, "it is attainable for a group purchase."

To fund his launch, Hojun Song is selling t-shirts designed by "some Spanish graffiti artists," some artist friends -- an eclectic mix of styles, which you can view here. The shirts will be on sale this summer.



In the long term, if all goes well, Hojun hopes his own experiments and information dissemination through the Open Source Satellite Initiative will contribute to reduced costs and higher availability of space-grade electronics, so everyone can participate --"even street artists" he suggests, again returning to the idea that we should engage with technology and the universe as a cultural act, and a public one.

"This is not my project," he told the audience at W+K. "I'm just rearranging, coordinating the data -- like a DJ. "This is just the beginning," he hopes. "What I'm offering is a general platform. You add your functions. No one expected the PCs to turn out like this by now, or the internet, but they did. So this is just the beginning. Later, there could be open source starships."

"I'm just a nobody with long hairs. I’m short. I'm not part of a university. Not with the government. I want to see if it's actually possible," Song concludes.

Assuming it is all possible, and the launch is a success, once the satellite is in orbit Song will finally get his response to "Hello, my satellite." Super-strong LED lights will be used to shine back morse coded messages, each "about as long as a Twitter". Off the top of his head, he suggested blinking out "Peace" over Iran.



"What would your own message be?" an audience member asked from somewhere near the back of the artificially grassy common area in W+K. "I want other people to do it," he said immediately. He paused. Then added "But mine would be 'Who are you?' Have you ever looked right into the center of your eyes?" he asked the audience, stretching his head and neck forward a bit as if looking into his own bathroom mirror. "Who are you?"

If you're interested in setting up your own G.O.D., you can find Hojun's research in his book, his Open Source Satellite Initiative website, and his personal website.

Photos 2-5 by Rain Huan, W+K Shanghai