'Shooting star' satellite on board Rocket Lab may light up Olympics opening event

Saturday, 9 November 2019

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

There is speculation the highlight of next year's Olympic games opening ceremony in Tokyo will be a 'shooting star' show launched from a satellite that Rocket Lab will put into space later this month.

Japanese company ALE has a satellite booked on Rocket Lab's next Electron rocket, which is scheduled to launch from Māhia Peninsula near Gisborne some time from November 25.

The satellite, ALE-2, has been designed to release 400 pellets to simulate meteorites or 'shooting-stars' as they re-enter the atmosphere, that should visible over an area of about 200 kilometres across.

Space Minister Phil Twyford said last week that officials took months to look into environmental and legal issues, before the Government gave permission for the satellite to be launched from New Zealand.

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Twyford said that 'in the first instance the display will be over Tokyo'.

An ALE spokesperson, who identified themselves simply as Maika, said in a written statement that the location of shows put on by ALE-2 were 'still under consideration'.

CNN reported in 2016 that ALE might be lined up to put on a show for the 2020 Olympics, reporting that the 'start-up' was rumoured to have put in a bid to make space entertainment part of the opening ceremony.

The countdown to the Oympics could be on at Rocket Lab.

Britain's The Sun reported in January that ALE's goal was to 'wow the world's mega-rich with dazzling light displays'.

But Maika said ALE expected its shows would be booked by the likes of 'local governments, theme parks, sports associations or advertising agencies'.

ALE-2 is due to launch from NZ during a launch window that opens on November 25.

In a possible hint that ALE-2 is destined to light up a high-profile event, Twyford said officials consulted with international counterparts 'in particular the Japanese government', which had also licensed the satellite, before he gave his approval for the payload.

ALE's very first shooting-star show will take place over Hiroshima early next year, according to satellite industry reports.

Space Minister Phil Twyford has said display will be over Tokyo 'in first instance'.

That show would be put on from an earlier satellite that ALE placed into orbit from Japan in January.

Using space for visual spectacles has been controversial.

Rocket Lab was criticised by some astronomers for launching its 'Humanity Star' during its first orbital launch last year.

The inert satellite was designed purely for the purpose of being viewed from Earth.

Maika said ALE's shooting stars would not impact the environment.

'Compared to the fact that 100 tons of materials fall on the Earth from the outer space per day, the meteor source remains just a few grams per particle.'

Nor did ALE believe they would cheapen the 'real thing'.

Its artificial meteors would look different from 'natural shooting stars' as they would travel more slowly, Maika said.

'We will take good care not to damage the mystery of the natural meteor nor cause any confusion.'

ALE said its shooting-stars would be intended 'not only to entertain, but also to contribute to the development of fundamental science' through the observation of its pellets re-entering the atmosphere.

'Analyzing this data has a possibility to increase the accuracy of weather forecasts, preventing disasters caused by torrential rain and abnormal weather, and navigating safe aircraft.'

Its project was supported by 20 scientists and astronomers from 12 countries, including Nihon University's associate professor Shinsuke Abe, Maika said.

Abe is identified elsewhere online as also being ALE's research director.

The New Zealand Space Agency, which is part of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, recommended the Government approve the launch of ALE-2 after commissioning a study from NIWA.

It determined that, based on the information it had been provided, the environmental impact would be 'insignificant and probably undetectable'.

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

But it said it believed 'entertainment' was a legitimate use of space, noting that satellites were launched to provide entertainment services, such as satellite television.