So far, only one satellite has been authorized for a test demonstration, but the company that makes it hopes to eventually launch 50,000 into orbit.
Joe is a freelance journalist. It all started with a lifelong passion for building his own PCs, which he first did as a teenager. It has become a permanent pleasure to put words on the subject on the Internet. He has written for CNET, PCMag, Mashable and SlashGear as a freelance writer and worked as a senior editor at Android Authority for 10 years. When he’s not writing about tech and science, he’s learning the ins and outs of home repair, gaming, bass, and posting PC building help and gaming subreddits. He firmly believes that orange juice should contain pulp.
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When humans play with the sun in science fiction, it’s usually when a supervillain hides it and imposes permanent darkness. A space technology company called Reflect Orbital wants to do the opposite: bring sunlight to the dark side of Earth using satellites equipped with giant mirrors. The FCC approved just one satellite as a test demonstration on Thursday, and some scientists are already unhappy about it.
The approval gives Reflect Orbital the green light to send its Eärendil-1 satellite into orbit. It is a relatively small spacecraft, weighing 142 kilograms (313 pounds).
Its body houses a square, thin-film mirror measuring 18 meters by 18 meters (about 60 feet by 60 feet). The satellite is expected to be launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 later in 2026.
Eärendil-1 promises to reflect sunlight back to Earth in a 3-mile circle that can be aimed virtually anywhere there is no sunlight. The company has a web tool that shows you what that would look like, and it’s large enough to light up entire neighborhoods, making it appear like daytime even though it’s nighttime.
Earendil-1 is capable of reflecting sunlight within a radius of approximately three miles, giving it the ability to light up an entire neighborhood.
Orbital thinkingApparently, this would be used to power solar panels at night, bypassing the big drawback of solar panels: they can only collect energy during the day. According to Reflect Orbital, electricity demand increases just as the sun sets, meaning power companies have to produce the most power when the sun isn’t there to help. This increases the consumption of fossil fuels, which is a factor contributing to climate change.
Reflect Orbital says it wants to deploy 50,000 of these satellites in case the technology demonstration proves successful. This would place 16.2 million square meters of mirrors in low Earth orbit to illuminate large parts of the Earth on demand. For now, only the Eärendil-1 satellite is approved for launch.
Only one satellite is currently approved for testing, but Reflect Orbital wants to one day put 50,000 into orbit.
Orbital thinkingScientists say it could be a disaster
Academics opposed the launch of Eärendil-1 well before its approval by the FCC. More than 1,800 comments were made during the proposal phase, and most were negative.
Researchers tend to agree that having 50,000 satellites reflecting sunlight back to Earth could be just as bad as a supervillain completely blocking sunlight.
Several organizations have filed complaints, including the American Astronomical Society and DarkSky, citing potential problems with reflecting 16 million square miles of sunlight back to Earth in the middle of the night.
“The concept of lighting Earth from orbit represents a new category of artificial light at night with global ecological, cultural and regulatory consequences,” DarkSky said in an open letter to Reflect Orbital. “Based on current scientific evidence, we do not see a viable path for this technology to align with the principles of responsible lighting or our mission to protect natural darkness.”
Astronomers are also high on the list of people opposed to a large mirror illuminating the night, noting that even a single mirror flying in front of a telescope can easily overwhelm sensitive equipment at observatories on Earth. And since most astronomy research must be done at specific times, due to the motion of the greater universe, missing an opportunity to observe something through an army of mirrors can result in irrecoverable data loss.
Scientists in other parts of the world are also unhappy with the idea that a single company in one country could ruin the skies of the rest of the world.
“An individual RO satellite like Eärendil-1 should have an optical brightness of at least 2 to 4 times that of the full moon,” the American Astronomical Society said in a complaint filed with the FCC. The AAS also notes that it’s not just about the mirrors; Since light scatters when it hits Earth’s atmosphere, the mirrors would also make the sky around them too bright to see, further confusing the search.
“For example, right near the sharp edge of the full moon, the sky is 10,000 times brighter than a dark sky without a moon,” the AAS said. “We expect a similar level of brightness around Eärendil-1.”
Reflect Orbital admits that this is a regulatory blind spot, stating that there is “no established regulatory framework for space energy and lighting services.” The company says it is open to regulation and working alongside scientists, while saying it intends to learn as much as possible from its test satellite before sending another 50,000 into space.
Joe is a freelance journalist. It all started with a lifelong passion for building his own PCs, which he first did as a teenager. It has become a permanent pleasure to put words on the subject on the Internet. He has written for CNET, PCMag, Mashable and SlashGear as a freelance writer and worked as a senior editor at Android Authority for 10 years. When he’s not writing about tech and science, he’s learning the ins and outs of home repair, gaming, bass, and posting PC building help and gaming subreddits. He firmly believes that orange juice should contain pulp. See full bio
