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That experience will soon be replicated, packaged and sold in the ‘multi-billion-dollar space entertainment market’ if Japanese space technology firm ALE has its way. The company recently announced plans to launch the next satellite in its Sky Canvas project, paving the way for the first manmade shooting star displays.
ALE plans to achieve the feat by dropping meteor-replicating particles from orbit. But can the experience ever be as special when it is on-demand and artificial?
Cosmic inspiration
Formed by astrophysicist and entrepreneur Dr Lena Okajima after she was inspired by the majesty of the Leonid meteor shower in 2001, ALE aims to provide on-demand shooting star displays at a specific time and place, essentially enabling celestial firework displays over cities or live events. To do so, the meteor-replicating particles – 1cm spheres of non-toxic materials – will be loaded into a Sky Canvas satellite. Once in orbit 400km above the Earth, and there are no other spacecraft on the designated path, the particles will be fired out at a specific position, direction and speed. They will then burn up between 60km and 80km above ground, lighting up the sky.
ALE claims that its manmade shooting stars, by entering the atmosphere at a slower speed than natural meteors, will emit light for longer. They could be viewed within a 200km range. As they burn up in the atmosphere, ALE says the particles will not contribute to space debris or place any other burden on the environment. The satellites themselves will be installed with electrodynamic tethers developed with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), designed for prompt deorbiting by generating drag.
The company has previously launched two Sky Canvas satellites, although a planned demonstration with the second was prevented by technical issues. ALE will launch the next one in 2024, and plans to provide the first manmade meteor shower in 2025.
Climate research
Our astronomical outlook from Earth has already drastically changed in the past 60 years, particularly in the last 10, with thousands of satellites obscuring our view of the heavens. Do we really need another artificial addition to the night sky?
According to ALE announcements, its missions will also advance “essential climate science research and education”. By studying the path and light emissions of particles as they descend, the company aims to gather data about the mesosphere 50-100km above Earth, including wind speed, atmospheric composition and more, providing an insight into climate change and contributing data to weather models.
The company’s manmade shooting stars will provide valuable atmospheric data as well as “unprecedented entertainment,” said Okajima, becoming “as special as natural ones”.
She added: “Our shooting stars will increase interest in space and science. Of course, we are also considering the environmental impact. The shooting stars are designed to be harmless. In terms of astronomical observations the impact is limited, because the mechanism of a human-made shooting star is the same as natural ones, and the brightness of a human-made shooting star is similar to the brightest natural stars.”
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