Tokyo-based ALE Co., Ltd. (ALE), led by its CEO Lena Okajima, with the mission to make space closer to people, held a press conference on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at Cosmo Planetarium Shibuya in Tokyo. At the event, ALE announced the mission overview of “Starlight Challenge,” the world’s first artificial shooting star demonstration project. (hereinafter "the Project").
In addition to presenting the details of the mission, ALE entered into corporate partnership agreements for the Project with the following four companies: PR TIMES Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Takumi Yamaguchi), au Energy & Life, Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Shigeru Saito), Takara Standard Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka City, Osaka; President & CEO: Masaru Komori), and TRUSCO NAKAYAMA CORPORATION (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Tetsuya Nakayama).
Project Objectives
A “world-first” initiative aiming for demonstration by fiscal year 2028, contributing to scientific research on the upper atmosphere
This Project is a world-first space entertainment mission that aims to demonstrate an artificial shooting star show across the night sky. The mission involves releasing ALE’s proprietary, specially developed metal spheres—serving as the source of meteors—from a satellite launched into Earth orbit at an altitude of just under 400 kilometers, thereby artificially generating shooting stars.
ALE aims to conduct the demonstration of this Project by the end of fiscal year 2028. *¹ALE’s artificial shooting stars are characterized by their slower trajectories compared to natural shooting stars. In addition, observations of these artificial shooting stars make it possible to obtain data on atmospheric composition and wind speeds in the mesosphere, the atmospheric layer at altitudes of approximately 60 to 80 kilometers where shooting stars occur.
ALE will provide the observational data obtained through this Project to the scientific community, thereby contributing to scientific research on the upper atmosphere—an area in which observation using aircraft or balloons has been difficult and where sufficient data has not been available to date.
Collaborative Projects with Corporate Partners
Collaboration with PR TIMES: “Ground Stars Project” to expand awareness of Starlight Challenge
In collaboration with corporate partner PR TIMES, ALE will implement the “Ground Stars Project” to further increase awareness of Starlight Challenge and to recruit companies that support the initiative.Companies across Japan shine on the ground like stars, working to fulfill the wishes and aspirations of people. Through the Ground Stars Project, participating companies will be invited together with their corporate philosophies, and events will be held where these companies can be appreciated and showcased as “ground stars.”
ALE believes that its world-first challenge to create artificial shooting stars will inspire and encourage not only companies but also many individuals, attracting people who wish to support such bold endeavors. By expanding this circle of support, ALE aims to foster a society in which challenge and encouragement continuously reinforce one another.
Collaboration with au Energy & Life: Launch of the “Shooting Star Electricity” service *²
In collaboration with corporate partner au Energy & Life, ALE will launch a retail electricity plan called “Shooting Star Electricity” (Nagareboshi Denki), utilizing the existing framework of au Denki. The service will begin on February 4, 2026, and will be available in the service areas of Hokkaido Electric Power, Tohoku Electric Power, Tokyo Electric Power, Chubu Electric Power, Hokuriku Electric Power, Chugoku Electric Power, and Kyushu Electric Power.
“Shooting Star Electricity” is the world’s first *³ support-based electricity plan that enables customers to back the artificial shooting star demonstration project through their everyday electricity usage, realized through the collaboration between ALE and au Energy & Life.
In addition, subscribers will be offered exclusive benefits, including opportunities to experience real space development sites, observe artificial shooting star release tests, and participate in shooting star science workshops organized by ALE—allowing participants to engage more closely with the artificial shooting star mission.
Collaboration with Takara Standard: Space demonstration of enamel panels
In collaboration with corporate partner Takara Standard, ALE will conduct a technology demonstration using enamel panels. The objectives of this demonstration are to verify the space durability of enamel materials, explore their potential application in future missions, and test color printing using special printing techniques on enamel surfaces.
In current space development, conventional paints face challenges when used on externally exposed satellite components, as they may volatilize and outgas in a vacuum environment, potentially adhering to optical instruments or solar panels and causing performance degradation or failure. In addition, strong resistance to ultraviolet radiation is required.
Enamel technology involves coating metal surfaces with glass material at temperatures exceeding 800°C. By applying color printing to the glass material and firing it at high temperatures, enamel panels produce no outgassing and are protected from ultraviolet radiation due to the chemical durability of glass.
If specific wavelengths of color can be applied to exposed satellite surfaces, this could improve accuracy in optical tracking from the ground and serve as visual markers for sensors during on-orbit rendezvous and docking operations.
As part of this collaboration, logo panels featuring the logos of partner companies will be manufactured and are scheduled to be mounted on the artificial shooting star satellite.
Collaboration with TRUSCO NAKAYAMA: Initiatives to stimulate the space industry in Japan
In collaboration with corporate partner TRUSCO NAKAYAMA, ALE will promote public relations activities for both ALE and the Project to TRUSCO NAKAYAMA’s extensive network, including 3,729 suppliers, 5,680 retail partners, and the vast community of manufacturing users beyond them, with the aim of recruiting supporting companies.
TRUSCO NAKAYAMA will also support ALE’s manufacturing activities by providing machine tools, including private-brand products. In addition, by leveraging its extensive inventory of industrial consumables and its in-house logistics system capable of rapid delivery, TRUSCO NAKAYAMA will expand its product offerings to meet the needs of the space industry through collaboration with ALE.
Through these efforts—ranging from optimizing procurement environments for auxiliary materials used in space development to strengthening supply chain responsiveness—ALE and TRUSCO NAKAYAMA aim to contribute to the revitalization of Japan’s space industry
Project Overview
ALE’s mission and the scientific value embodied in artificial shooting stars
ALE is guided by the mission to connect science with society and make space part of our cultural sphere, and is pursuing the creation of new space-based businesses. At the core of this effort is the present Project, which provides artificial shooting stars as a form of entertainment while simultaneously contributing to the advancement of science.
Artificial shooting stars are generated by releasing ALE’s proprietary, specially developed metal particles (meteor sources) from a satellite and allowing them to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere, thereby creating shooting stars artificially. A satellite deployed into an orbit at an altitude of approximately 400 kilometers carries these meteor sources and releases them with precise control over position, direction, and velocity, generating artificial shooting stars in the mesosphere at altitudes of approximately 60 to 80 kilometers.
Each particle is designed to be visible over an area with a diameter of approximately 200 kilometers. Compared to natural shooting stars, artificial shooting stars are characterized by their slower trajectories. In addition, upper-atmospheric data obtained through artificial shooting stars are expected to serve as important clues for understanding the mechanisms of climate change.
Artificial shooting stars comply with safety standards established by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and other relevant organizations. In previous missions, ALE established safety criteria for conducting artificial shooting star missions through coordination with the Japanese government, JAXA, and related authorities in multiple countries, covering both launch operations and on-orbit activities. For the current mission as well, ALE plans to conduct operations safely in accordance with applicable laws and regulations in each country, based on these proprietary safety standards.
The meteor sources are made of harmless materials that have been confirmed to have no adverse impact on either the Earth’s environment or the space environment. Because the meteor sources completely burn up at altitudes of approximately 60 to 80 kilometers, they do not become space debris and pose no risk of falling to the ground.
Two past mission failures and the third challenge
To date, ALE has conducted two artificial shooting star missions, in 2019. In both missions, the satellites were successfully launched and inserted into orbit; however, due to malfunctions in the release mechanisms installed on the satellites, the release of meteor sources was not achieved.
Because the two missions were launched in close succession, it was not possible to fully incorporate the results of the first mission into the development of the second. As a result, both satellites were equipped with release mechanisms of the same design. Following these missions, ALE conducted detailed design reviews and failure analyses of the release mechanism malfunctions observed in both satellites, in collaboration with JAXA and other external experts.
As a result of these analyses, ALE concluded that, in a high-vacuum environment, a phenomenon in which metal components adhere to each other likely occurred, requiring greater force than anticipated to release the meteor sources. This, in turn, likely prevented the loading section of the release mechanism from operating properly.
Based on these findings, the release mechanism installed on the third satellite has adopted a design that reduces the likelihood of adhesion between components even in a high-vacuum environment, and the structure of the loading section has been improved.
These design changes are expected to prevent the malfunctions experienced in previous missions and enable the reliable execution of the artificial shooting star mission.
Notes
*¹ The schedule described above reflects the plan as of February 4, 2026, and may be subject to change depending on development progress.
*² A separate press release has been prepared with further details regarding this matter.
*³ Based on ALE’s internal research.
Statements from Representatives of Each Company on the Launch of the Project
Comment from Lena Okajima, Founder & CEO, ALE Co., Ltd.
We are pursuing an ambitious dream: to move people’s hearts through artificial shooting stars and bring more smiles to Earth.Through two previous attempts, we have accumulated many lessons and valuable experience. In our first challenge in 2019, we successfully completed the satellite launch, on-orbit operations, and orbital deorbiting mission. In our second challenge in 2022, however, we were unable to release the shooting stars due to a malfunction in the release mechanism. We felt deep frustration and a strong sense of regret for not being able to meet the expectations placed upon us.
Even so, we will never give up. The lessons learned from these two failures are invaluable assets. The causes of the malfunctions have already been identified, and countermeasures have been thoroughly implemented. Of course, in the world of science, the word “100%” cannot be used lightly.
Nevertheless, after rigorously analyzing past failures and repeatedly refining the design, we are confident that the next attempt will achieve a probability of success as close to 100% as possible. This third challenge, which we believe will truly be “third time’s the charm,” is the one in which we will successfully demonstrate artificial shooting stars and deliver an unforgettable and inspiring experience to people around the world.We sincerely ask for your continued support as we work to make this ambitious dream a reality.
Comment from Kazuhiro Takeuchi, Executive Officer, PR TIMES Inc.
We uphold the mission of “creating an era in which information originating from those who take action moves people’s hearts.” We deeply resonate with this world-first initiative of artificial shooting stars, which continues to challenge forward without giving up even in the face of failure. We found this endeavor truly moving, and decided to support it in the hope that even one more person may feel a sense of hope when looking at a shooting star.Through this initiative, we have launched a project to support companies that shine on the ground—“ground stars”—as they strive to bring joy to others, and we will continue to expand this circle of encouragement.
Comment from Shigeru Saito, President & CEO, au Energy & Life, Inc.
Guided by our corporate philosophy, “Connecting the future through the power of electricity,” we aim to serve as a bridge that connects our customers with the future through energy. “Shooting Star Electricity” is an initiative that connects space development and everyday life through electricity—something that is familiar to everyone—and expands the value and experiences that electricity can deliver.
Together with innovative technologies and partners, we will continue to enrich daily life through energy and energize both our customers and Japan as a whole.
Comment from Masaru Komori, President & CEO, Takara Standard Co., Ltd.
Building on a history of more than 110 years, we are taking on the challenge of space by leveraging our high-quality vitreous enamel and glass frit technologies, which we have cultivated in the housing equipment industry. We seek to extend our corporate philosophy—“contributing to more comfortable and cleaner living”—from the Earth to space, with the goal of making outer space a comfortable place for human life.
By creating spaces of comfort and relaxation where people can truly connect with one another even in space, and by realizing the everyday comforts of life beyond Earth, we aim to contribute to the future of society.
Comment from Tetsuya Nakayama, President & CEO, TRUSCO NAKAYAMA CORPORATION
TRUSCO NAKAYAMA CORPORATION is a professional tool supplier that supports Japanese manufacturing behind the scenes as a wholesaler of machine tools.Guided by our policy of “thinking of what others do not and doing what others will not,” we felt a strong connection between our own philosophy and ALE’s world-first artificial shooting star project. We hope that, through its success, the excellence of Japanese manufacturing will be communicated to the world.