back to article Bad news: A company wants to sell artificial shooting stars. Good news: Launch delayed

As ISS astronauts get cracking with the next AMS spacewalk, take a moment to look back at the week in rockets. Arianespace celebrated its 250th launch, Russia and India fired off some of their own, and Rocket Lab spared us all more space junk. Rocket Lab delays artificial meteor shower after umbilical problems Rocket Lab's " …

  1. Stoneshop
    Pirate

    Bad news: A company wants to sell artificial shooting stars.

    How about treating the idiots who came up with this to a cranial-impact-induced star-viewing experience? Repeated as necessary.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Devil

      Re: Bad news: A company wants to sell artificial shooting stars.

      Now if they'd just use actual stars as payloads to produce the fireball effect, I'd be all in. They could start with the Kardashians.

      1. IGotOut Silver badge

        Re: Bad news: A company wants to sell artificial shooting stars.

        Not sure if you upset people that are Kardashian fans or the fact you said they were stars

      2. macjules

        Re: Bad news: A company wants to sell artificial shooting stars.

        Oh dear, there are at least 3 Kardashian fans who can read.

    2. ThatOne Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Bad news: A company wants to sell artificial shooting stars.

      Don't worry, somebody will come to point out that it's okay because it's "progress", not just "because we can".

      I'm betting somebody is already working on huge orbital billboards for advertisement. *sob*

      1. Steve K

        Re: Bad news: A company wants to sell artificial shooting stars.

        It certainly is disruptive....

      2. LucreLout

        Re: Bad news: A company wants to sell artificial shooting stars.

        I'm betting somebody is already working on huge orbital billboards for advertisement. *sob*

        Just as soon as the optics work you'll be getting treated to the "Moon Laser" (tm) - which will advertise, for a fee, to everyone on the dark part of the planet whatever message/logo the corp with the deepest pockets that day desires.

        It'll only end when the tech becomes cheap enough that "we" can overwrite it with lasers of our own, the proliferation of which will eventually ensure a turd brown moon nightly.

  2. choleric

    Reliable RocketLab

    I would have thought that RocketLab have demonstrated a commendable commitment to reliability by postponing their launch until they can be even more sure of mission success. Their reliability may come at the cost of schedule, but a slip to the right on timetable is far preferable to an unexpected disassembly of flight hardware.

    The Ariane 5 launch mentioned later in the story was postponed several times before it's eventual, successful, launch, but, correctly, no comment was made about its reliability.

    1. IceC0ld

      Re: Reliable RocketLab

      personally, I would have imagined that a Co about to try and release man made meteorites, would have pressed ahead with the launch come what may, as surely, if it DID go TITSUP then they would merely have added to the planet bound observers pleasure in the meteor shower generated ?

  3. JohnFen

    An alternative

    ""It is ALE's wish to see that many people will be able to feel and enjoy the universe from the ground," the Tokyo-based outfit said"

    It is my wish to see ALE accomplish this by bashing their heads very hard with a large hammer.

    1. Chris G

      Re: An alternative

      I have special re-entry suits for all the members of ALE, I strongly recommend the experience of personal atmospheric re-entry for them.

      Oh, the technical name for the re-entry suit is pine box.

      1. Spherical Cow Silver badge

        Re: An alternative

        As I write this there are six comments so far on this article, and four of those six are calling for the deaths of people we've never met. I don't think that's very nice.

        1. IGotOut Silver badge
          Joke

          Re: An alternative

          So is it ok to want the deaths of people we have met? I've a list.

          1. Stoneshop
            Pirate

            Re: An alternative

            I've also got a list of people I've never met that I'd rather see dead. Quite a long one.

            I'm not a nice person.

        2. JohnFen

          Re: An alternative

          I hope you weren't counting my comment as one of them. I was not calling for anyone's death, I was pointing out a way of seeing artificial shooting stars that wouldn't impinge on the rest of us.

          1. Francis Boyle Silver badge

            In that case I suggest you take lessons from an expert

            Hammers are messy and leave evidence. Professional use phone books.

        3. Stoneshop
          Headmaster

          Re: An alternative

          are calling for the deaths of people

          It's your reading comprehension that appears to be dead. The suggestion was to hit the idiots who came up with this with heavy objects so that they would be seeing stars, instead of expending launch capacity for something as frivolous as "shooting stars on demand". And if you hit them so hard they expire they won't be seeing those stars and no repeat treatment would be indicated.

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