Valveのゲイブ・ニューウェル氏が小児病院への寄付を募るチャリティ企画を実施へ。ノーム・チョンプスキーを宇宙へ飛ばし，打ち上げを見守る

　Valveの共同設立者であり業務執行取締役のご存じGabe Newell（ゲイブ・ニューウェル）氏が，小児病院への寄付を募るチャリティ企画を行うという。


　米国の航空宇宙企業・Rocket Labは次なるミッション「Flight 16」（リンク）で，小型衛星を正確に軌道に乗せ，残骸を宇宙に残さずに離脱する（大気圏再突入時に燃え尽きる）よう設計されたロケット「Electron」を打ち上げる。このロケットに，ニューウェル氏の希望で，「Half-Life」などでお馴染みのノーム・チョンプスキーが乗せられるという。

　宇宙へ行くこととなったノーム・チョンプスキーは，映画の小道具などを手がけるWeta Workshopが3Dプリントで製作したもので，全高150mm，チタン製。ノーム・チョンプスキーの搭載は3Dプリント技術の試験・検証であり，同時にニューウェル氏の慈善活動を兼ねたものになるという。

　打ち上げは協定世界時11月15日の予定となっており，この打ち上げのライブ配信を“視聴した1人につき1ドル”を，ニューウェル氏がニュージーランドの小児病院（Starship Children's Hospital。リンク）に寄付するという。ライブ配信は「こちら」でチェックできるようだ。

Rocket Lab公式サイト

※Valveのニュースリリースより

Join Gabe Newell & Rocket Lab
in Space-Based Charity

Gabe Newell, president of Valve, is proud to announce that he has convinced Rocket Lab, a global leader in dedicated small satellite launch, to shoot a garden gnome into space while Newell proudly watches from Earth.

What's the source of all this pride? Newell, an emerging global leaderin convincing Rocket Lab to launch things into space, will be donating one dollar to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Starship for every person who watches the launch online at www.rocketlabusa.com/live-stream either live or within 24 hours of launch. This money may someday help achieve Newell's ultimate dream -- launching a children's hospital into space -- but in the interim will be used for more practical hospital-related purposes.

Manufactured with support from Weta Workshop, the Wellington-based,multi-award-winning design studio and global leader in garden gnome fabrication, the tiny astronaut will be manufactured from titanium and
printed in the shape of Half-Life gaming icon Gnome Chompski. The 150 mm gnome will be integrated with Electron's Kick Stage, designed to deliver small satellites into precise orbits, and launched as part of a rideshare mission from Launch Complex 1 in Mahia, New Zealand during 14-day launch window that opens on November 16 NZT / November 15 UTC (www.rocketlabusa.com/next-mission ).

One revolutionary feature of Kick Stage is its ability to reorient anddeorbit itself post launch, enabling it to re-enter the atmosphere and burn up without a trace. While this is good news for the environment, it doesn't bode well for Gnome Chompski's chances of returning safely to Earth, which Newell admits are "grim."

Newell was in New Zealand, visiting friends at Weta Workshop and Rocket Labs, when the pandemic hit earlier this year. He has since called Auckland his temporary home, and has been looking for a way to help the economy and the community that sheltered him (or at least hasn't kicked him out yet). Newell would like the good people of New Zealand, global leaders of living in New Zealand, to know that his eccentric attempts at charity are largely harmless and pose no immediate threat to their way of life.

Track the launch timing here:
www.rocketlabusa.com/next-mission

Watch the live stream here:
www.rocketlabusa.com/live-stream

More info on Starship Children's Hospital:
https://www.adhb.health.nz/patients-and-visitors/
hospitals-and-clinics/starship-childrens-hospital/