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A Japanese startup developing what it calls "shooting stars on demand" is said to be ready to deliver the world's first meteorite artificial rain during a spectacular show on Hiroshima in early 2020
ALE, based in Tokyo, is in the final stages of developing two microsatellites that will release tiny balls that shine brightly when they enter the atmosphere, simulating a meteor shower.
The first satellite will take a turn in space on a rocket launched by the Japanese space agency. March 2019. The second will be launched in mid-2019 on a private sector rocket.
"We are targeting the entire world because our stock of shooting stars will be in space and can be delivered around the world," ALE Managing Director Lena Okajima told reporters Wednesday
Each satellite will be able to carry 400 tiny balls whose chemical formula is a well-kept secret.
Ejected from the satellite, the balls will shine while diving into the atmosphere.
The 400 balls will be enough for 20 to 30 events, depending on the company, and the satellites will be able to stay in space for about two years.
The company is also studying the possibility of already using satellites "We plan to push a used satellite into the atmosphere in a targeted orbit to create a giant artificial shooting star," said the FA Ko Ko Kamachi, adding that the idea was still in the process of fundamental research.
The two ALE satellites will begin orbiting the Earth in February 2020, preparing the first delivery of artificial shooting stars in the spring of 2020 over Hiroshima.
The satellites can be used separately or in tandem, and will be programmed to eject the balls at the right place, at the right speed and in the right direction, to allow viewers to play on the ground.
bullets should mean that it is possible to change the colors that they shine, offering the possibility of a multicolored flotilla of shooting stars.
Each star should shine for several seconds before being completely burned – well before they fall low enough to represent a danger to anything on Earth.
They shone bright enough to be seen even over the metropolis polluted by the light of Tokyo.
Hopefully, and the sky is clear, Okajima said the company chose Hiroshima for its first exhibition because of its weather, landscape and cultural badets.
ALE works in collaboration with scientists and engineers from Japanese universities.
He did not disclose the price of an artificial meteor, but it may not be so cheap, with the company spending about 20 million dollars for development, production, lau nch and operation of the two satellites.
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