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posted by mrpg on Friday January 18 2019, @09:12AM   Printer-friendly
from the kamisama-onegai dept.

First artificial meteor shower might outshine natural 'shooting stars'

[...] Tokyo-based ALE (for Astro Live Experiences) pitches itself as a pioneer in the "space entertainment sector." It hopes to conduct a groundbreaking artificial meteor event in 2020 using its first satellite over an area near Hiroshima, where it will be observable by up to 6 million people over an area 200 kilometers (124 miles) wide.

[...] "I hope that our man-made meteors will help reveal new discoveries in science, and that it will gather and entertain people under the night sky," CEO Lena Okajima said in a statement.

The satellite creates its sky show by firing off little pellets a centimeter in diameter that are made up of a proprietary mix of non-toxic materials. The "particles," as ALE calls them, are designed to generate a range of bright colors as they heat up and disintegrate during reentry into the atmosphere, all while still over 60 kilometers (37 miles) above our heads.

Related: Now, meteor shower on demand? Here is Japanese firm’s controversial plan for the ultra-rich

Previously: Company Will Create an "Artificial Meteor Shower" Over Hiroshima, Japan in 2019


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by VLM on Friday January 18 2019, @12:26PM

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 18 2019, @12:26PM (#788207)

    Surface area to volume ratios and density issues make the orbit unsustainable.

    With a ton of hand waving, and no references other than memory, given a steel i-beam pointy end on, and a rigid hot air balloon (technically a blimp), of the same mass and the same relatively low orbit, the beam can stay in orbit a couple weeks and the balloon won't make it even one complete orbit.

    Those microsats and suitsats tossed out the airlock of the ISS can't survive more than a couple days/weeks at ISS orbit, whereas the ISS without reboosting can make it a couple months.

    A big dense log-shaped satellite might make it a couple weeks until it passes over Hiroshima then poop out some firework sand granules that won't survive more than a fraction of an orbit.

    This was also a very popular / secret research topic WRT "rod from god" orbital bombardment systems from decades ago. People unfamiliar with the tech think you get 100% of orbital energy, but reality is the speed-brake deployment tech is complicated, unreliable, expensive, and wastes a significant fraction of energy on the way down. Your "rod from god" weapon retro rocket can be much smaller than you think if you're only lowering the lowest point of orbit to extreme upper atmosphere and put the rod sideways in orbit.

    Catbox style "clumping" could be a significant issue if their powders stick due to heat or some kind of chemical cold welding. That could easily be avoided with some chemistry and mech-engineering work.

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