The idea to launch billboards into space may have seemed like just another marketing gimmick. Back in January, Discover first reported on a Russian start-up company named StartRocket that said it wanted to use swarms of mini satellites called CubeSats to project ads on the night sky from low-Earth orbit. Readers reacted harshly to the announcement. Some called it “repulsive.” Others urged boycotts of any company that took them up on the offer.

But the beverage giant PepsiCo actually took