‘Shooting star’ shows get Space Agency nod
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 megarich 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.
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 advises him, said it ‘‘gave reference to other international regulations concerning ‘obtrusive space advertising’’’ when considering ALE’s application, but decided it was unlikely to violate US regulations.
‘‘Any displays will be of a relatively short duration and be highly localised,’’ said the agency, a division of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
It said it also 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 in Earth’s atmosphere and will not deposit residue on Earth’s surface, the Space Agency said.