Wish upon a star? It might no longer be just luck for you. Instead, you could time your wish as well as camera to take in the sight of shooting stars.
Dr Lena Okajima, Founder and CEO of ALE Co., Ltd
I was intrigued by the concept of how someone could thought of creating artificial shooting stars and signed up for the talk by Dr Lena Okajima, the Founder and CEO of ALE Co., Ltd. Such an innovative idea as well as courage to do something that might have been thought impossible? Why did someone come up with such an idea for a company? Dr Lena shared her childhood of growing up in Tottori, where they have desert-like places (Tottori Sand Dunes). She would lie down on the sand and watch the sky, sparking her interest in astronomy. Dr Lena went on to take an university degree in astronomy.
Shooting Stars On Demand
Artificial Shooting Stars by 2019
Dr Lena mentioned that the shooting stars would not make its debut during the 2020 Olympics in Japan, Tokyo, as thought by most. Instead, ALE might be bringing this to the sky as early as 2019. Dr Lena mentioned that in 2019, the company is planning for the first artificial shooting star to be shown in Hiroshima and invited all those who are free to visit Hiroshima to view the significant event.
Ongoing Challenges
During the conversation, someone asked Dr Lena what are the challenges she faced when starting the company. She mentioned that the challenges do not come only at the start but challenges come day after day. A new perspective that I gained by hearing from real-life entrepreneurs, that is the major challenge of starting a business is not only at the start of the business, but on overcoming the new challenges of the business that comes day after day.
Using Swing-By To Overcome Greater Goals
A fascinating idea that Dr Lena shared on the website is the idea of using “swing-by”, a concept in aerospace engineering where a spacecraft changes its path using the gravitational pull of other astronomical objects. By getting more people interested in the project, she hopes that with the strength in numbers, this could help her company overcome newfound challenges and achieve greater goals.
