A Japanese "space entertainment firm" called Astro Live Experiences (ALE) says it will launch its first satellite in 2019 to create artificial meteor showers on demand, for large events or at the whim¹ of the wealthiest among us.

 

日本一家名为天文直播体验（缩写为ALE）的“太空娱乐公司”称，它将在2019年发射首颗能够按需制造人工流星雨的人造卫星。这些流星雨可能是为大型活动制造，也可能为了某个富豪的一个念头。

 

Though ALE hasn't named a specific price per event, BuzzFeed News suggests each ALE meteor shower will likely cost several million dollars.

 

According to CNN, ALE "meteors" will be small metallic² pellets made of a proprietary³ composition that glows orange, blue, or green as they burn up in the atmosphere.

 

Yet unlike ordinary meteors, which are usually around the size of a sand grain, ALE's fake shooting stars will be substantially bigger - around two centimeters in diameter (smaller than a ping-pong ball, but slightly larger than a marble) - and released in a cloud.

 

Experts have raised concerns that this could threaten low-orbiting spacecraft.

 

"I salute⁴ them for cleverness and for their technical expertise⁵, but from an orbital debris⁶ standpoint, it's not a great idea," University of Michigan astronomer⁷ Patrick Seitzer told BuzzFeed.

 

Moving at high speeds brought on by Earth's gravity, a 2 centimeter-wide object is more than enough to shoot right through a metal spacecraft - and leave devastation⁸ in its wake.

 

ALE seems to be taking steps to ensure this would be an unlikely event.

 

ALE's satellite would likely orbit just below the International Space Station to avoid collisions; any pellet that ALE's satellite releases will go from an altitude of 220 miles (354 km) to about 37 miles (59.5 km) above the surface before burning up.

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