Orbital Reflector
Orbital Reflector is a reflective, mylar sculpture by Trevor Paglen launched into the night sky as a temporary satellite. Co-produced by the Nevada Museum of Art, the $1.3 million project had the objective of being the first “purely artistic” object in space. The satellite launched into space 3 December 2018. Originally it was expected to remain in orbit for three months, after which it would immolate upon reentry to the Earth's atmosphere. However, the sculpture (an inflatable mylar balloon with reflective surface) failed to deploy, and is lost in orbit, thus constituting space junk. It was expected to burn up in the atmosphere within the next few years.

Orbital Reflector launched on Monday, December 3rd, at 10:34 a.m. EST on board the SpaceX Spaceflight SSO-A: SmallSat Express.