Practical Engineering | Artificial Meteors and Re-Entry Engineering @PracticalEngineeringChannel | Uploaded May 2016 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
Trying something new today: Practical Engineering Shorts, where we just dip our toes into the technical details behind current events. Let me know what you think!

You may have seen in the headlines recently that a Japanese company, Star-ALE, plans to create an artificial meteor shower for the opening ceremony of the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo. We’ve been creating artificial meteors for a long time, just not for the purpose of entertainment. Engineers regularly pilot satellites and shuttles through reentry of the upper atmosphere. Creating an artificial meteor shower will require the dutiful application of the exact same body of engineering theory.

Star-ALE: global.star-ale.com
SeeSat-L: satobs.org
Good overview of re-entry physics (PDF warning): faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/designees_delegations/designee_types/ame/media/Section%20III.4.1.7%20Returning%20from%20Space.pdf

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