Japanese start-up to provide "on demand" meteor showers
What's the story
Taking the idea of 'entertainment' to the next level, Tokyo-based start-up ALE Co. is developing a satellite system to deliver "shooting stars on demand", and expects to deliver the world's first artificial meteor shower over Hiroshima some time in 2020. Reportedly, the project has been under-works for a while, and ALE is in the final stages of developing two satellites. Here's more.
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The world is ALE's oyster
"We are targeting the whole world, as our stockpile of shooting stars will be in space and can be delivered across the world," said ALE CEO Lena Okajami.
Meteor showers
How ALE plans to deliver meteor showers
The two micro-satellites being developed will have a payload of 400 tiny pellets. To create an artificial meteor shower, these satellites would release some of the pellets which would burn-up as they enter the atmosphere, creating a glow bright enough to be seen from the Earth. If skies are clear, ALE's meteor showers will be visible over an area spanning 124 miles.
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ALE claims it can also manipulate color
Each of the satellites will be able to deliver 20-30 meteor showers before running out of pellets. Interestingly, the chemical composition of the pellets remains a closely guarded secret, but ALE claims they'll be able to manipulate the color of the meteor shower.
Launch
The satellites will go into orbit next year
The plan is to get the micro-satellites into space and have them orbiting Earth by February 2020. The first micro-satellite is expected to hitch a ride aboard a Japan space agency (JAXA) rocket scheduled for launch in March 2019, while the second satellite is expected to be sent into space by a private-sector rocket around mid-2019.
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Cost of one on-demand meteor shower not known yet
Reportedly, it will cost ALE around $20mn for the development, production, deployment, and operation of the two micro-satellites. However, details about how much ALE will charge people for an on-demand meteor shower hasn't been revealed yet.