No harm found in putting on fake 'shooting star' shows, says Space Agency

Wednesday, 6 November 2019

Japanese company ALE explains how the 'shooting stars' are supposed to work.

Government officials have defended a decision to allow Rocket Lab to launch a satellite into space that will rain down artificial 'shooting stars' into the night sky.

The satellite is owned by Japanese company ALE, whose goal was described by The Sun in January as being to 'wow the world's mega-rich with dazzling light displays'.

Rocket Lab spokeswoman Morgan Bailey said it understood the shooting stars were designed both for visual entertainment and for 'research' purposes.

The ALE-2 satellite is one of seven due to be deployed during Rocket Lab's ninth orbital mission during a launch window that opens on November 25.

The Olympics opening event may feature 'shooting stars' launched from a satellite that Rocket Lab is due to put into space on Friday.

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Rocket Lab is launching seven satellites on its next mission, and one is expected to generate debate.

Earthsky.org reported that ALE's first satellite, launched in January, was capable of producing 20 to 30 separate showers, each consisting of about 20 'shooting stars' that simulate meteor particles, with the first show scheduled to take place over Hiroshima early next year.

It reported that ALE aimed to provide 'shooting stars on demand' by stockpiling pellets that could be delivered around the world 'basically turning the sky into a giant canvas'.

Spacelegalissues.com said artificial shooting stars were legal but 'highly debatable on the moral, ecological, legal and political levels'.

All satellite launches from New Zealand need to be approved by Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford, who said he approved the ALE-2 payload after the New Zealand Space Agency undertook 'a detailed months-long analysis of any environmental and legal considerations'.

The Space Agency, which is a division of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, also consulted with 'international counterparts', including the Japanese government which also licensed the payload, he said.

Rocket Lab founder Peter Beck has courted controversy over the use of space previously, with the launch last year of its 'humanity star'.

'The permit holder is a Japanese company and in the first instance the display will be over Tokyo.'

The Space Agency said in a statement that it 'gave reference to other international regulations concerning 'obtrusive space advertising'' when considering ALE's application, but decided it was unlikely to violate United States regulations.

'Any displays will be of a relatively short duration and be highly localised,' the agency said.

It commissioned an 'independent assessment' of the potential environmental impact from NIWA, which determined that based on the information it had been provided, the environmental impact would be 'insignificant and probably undetectable'.

The pellets to be ejected will burn up completely in the Earth's atmosphere and will not deposit residue on the surface of the Earth, the Space Agency said.

'The ALE payload met our regulatory requirements and we are assured that this activity will be both safe and sustainable.'

The Space Agency said NIWA had not been able to evaluate ALE's claims with regard to the potential scientific benefits of the satellite.

But it said it was important to note satellites were launched for a range of reasons, including for entertainment purposes such as the provision of satellite television.

ALE was founded by Lena Okajima, who describes herself on the company's website as a serial entrepreneur.

Okajima completed a doctorate in astronomy in Tokyo before going to as work as private equity investor and then founding a mobile gaming and a consultancy business.

Rocket Lab courted controversy when it launched its own artificial 'humanity star' into orbit in January last year, during its first orbital mission.

The humanity star was deemed to be of 'national interest' by the National government and its launch was approved by then-economic development minister Simon Bridges.

But some astronomers complained about the potential for the satellite – which has since re-entered the atmosphere and burnt up – interfering with their observations.

Michael Brown, an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology, labelled the humanity star 'space graffiti'.

The other six satellites due to be launched on Rocket Lab's next mission include two Hungarian satellites designed to test new thermal insulation materials and to measure man-made electromagnetic radiation.

The others are a German flight-tracking satellite, a Spanish satellite designed to provide connectivity for internet devices, and two satellites designed to support communications in space.