SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

OKAJIMA Lena, who received her Ph.D.
in astronomy from the University ofTokyo, founded Ale with the aspiration ofdeveloping man-made shooting stars.
Besides wishing to inspire more interest inspace, she hopes that her company’s
research will lead to the sustainable
development of humankind and science.

THE DAY WHEN

MAN-MADESHOOTINGSTARSWILL SHINE IN THE SKY
As part of its growth strategy, the Kishida administration has pledged its support for startup companies. A leader ininnovation, Ale Co., Ltd. is pioneering the original idea of releasing man-made shooting stars into the night sky.
This new startup won a prize in the 21st Japan Venture Awards and now seeks to develop its own unique
technologies for sustainable progress in space exploration and scientific development.
It all began in November 2001 with the Leonid
meteor shower. The shower of shooting stars fizzling
through the night sky consisted of tiny dust particles
from outer space that burn up as they enter the Earth’s
atmosphere. Given their relatively simple composition,
one can create their very own shooting stars-inspiring

the idea of making falling stars visible on demand
from anywhere in the world. While majoring inastronomy at the University of Tokyo, OKAJIMA
Lena was able to envisage such a possibility.
To make her dream a reality, Okajima founded
Ale Co., Ltd. in 2011. For a man-made shooting
Left: Ale’s man-made shooting stars,
designed to be observable for a longer
duration than natural shooting stars,
will be visible within a 200-km diameterin the night sky. The company is also
looking to branch into new businessareas such as tourism. ALE CO., LTD.
Right: The shooting star particles—just1 cm in diameter—will completely burnup in the Earth’s atmosphere and aredesigned not to collide with otherobjects orbiting the Earth. ALE CO., LTD.

In the Sky Canvas mission, which will release shooting stars
in the night sky, particles of about 1 cm in diameter are to bereleased by a device installed on a satellite. The meteor
particles will look like shooting stars as they burn up at analtitude of about 60-80 km, and from the Earth’s surface will
be observable at a maximum distance of 200 km. ALE CO., LTD.

star to be created, a small satellite will be launchedthat releases particles roughly 1 cm in diameter.
These particles will then burn up as they enter theatmosphere to look just like shooting stars when
seen from the ground. The shooting stars developedby Ale will emit light observable even from brightly
lit cities, with the spectacle lasting for a few seconds
longer than natural shooting stars. “Fireworks can beseen from about 10 km away, but man-made shootingstars will be observable with the naked eye over an
area 200 km in diameter. I hope that people will sharethose precious extra seconds to enjoy the fun andexcitement of looking up at the night sky,” explains
Okajima.
Technological development on small satellites
and a meteor-release device proceeded smoothly at
first thanks to the support of a university and otherorganizations, enabling the launch of two satellites in
2019. Though Ale’s first man-made shooting stars had
been scheduled for release in 2020, this unfortunately
had to be postponed due to a malfunction with oneof the satellites. Undeterred, however, the company isaiming to release the world’s first man-made shootingstars in 2023.
Ale’s activities are not limited to painting the skythrough the science of shooting stars under the Sky
Canvas project. Okajima, who majored in astronomy,explores how science can lead to business. “I strongly
believe that fundamental science is crucial for thesustainable development of humankind. Throughspace entertainment with man-made shootingstars on such a grand scale, our goal is
to inspire more interest in science andcuriosity about the universe, and at thesame time, we hope to contribute to asustainable Earth and space with thetechnologies we develop.”
One goal that the company has set
as its mission is solving the problem ofspace debris. In collaboration with theJapan Aerospace Exploration Agency( JAXA), Ale has developed a device to use the Earth’s
atmospheric drag and the Lorentz force to change theorbit of old satellites and the upper stages of rockets,bringing them down to a level where they can safely
burn in the atmosphere, thus preventing them frombecoming debris.
The company is also developing a technology tomeasure water vapor concentrations from around sea
level up to an altitude of about 50 km using remotesensors on satellites. Atmospheric observations at sea
are relatively difficult, and the data available are scarcecompared to measurements from the ground. Usingsatellites to obtain the wealth of oceanic atmospheric
data that is currently lacking will not only improve
weather forecasting but will also help unravel themechanisms of climate change and extreme weather.
To develop the necessary science and bringinnovations to space is the strong desire that drives
Okajima. “We plan to extend into a variety ofbusinesses. For example, we can use the technology
as a tourism resource by releasing shooting stars atevents worldwide,” she says. “Over the last decade,the environment surrounding space exploration haschanged dramatically, making it easier to obtain
technical cooperation or raise funds.”
The Kishida administration is promoting Japan asa science and technology nation and has proposedcomprehensive support for startups. Just as Okajima
pioneered a space business with her novel idea,
new innovators will contribute to creating futureindustries.