A California-based aerospace startup is triggering serious alarm bells after unveiling a plan to “sell sunlight” to people on Earth that critics warn could permanently alter the night sky and do so without global consent.
The company, Reflect Orbital, is proposing to deploy massive mirrors into low Earth orbit to redirect sunlight back to the planet after dark, effectively selling artificial daylight to paying customers.
According to the proposal, Reflect Orbital wants to use giant reflective satellites to beam sunlight onto targeted areas at night, a move the company claims could boost agriculture, extend daylight hours, and allow solar panels to operate after sunset.
Thousands of Mirrors in the Sky
Reflect Orbital has already filed an application with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to launch its first experimental satellite, known as EARENDIL-1, as early as this year.
If regulators approve the project and it scales as planned, the company envisions launching up to 4,000 orbital mirrors by the end of the decade.
Each mirror would reportedly unfold to about 59 feet across and could illuminate an area roughly three miles wide on Earth.
The company claims the reflected light could be up to four times brighter than a full moon, with future versions becoming even larger and more intense.
That promise is precisely what has scientists and ethicists deeply concerned.
Astronomers: “Pretty Catastrophic”
Astronomers warn that intentionally directing powerful light beams from space would be devastating for the night sky.
Ground-based telescopes rely on darkness to detect faint cosmic signals.
Even brief bursts of reflected sunlight could contaminate observations, distort data, and render large portions of the sky unusable for research.
One astronomer bluntly warned that the effort to extend daylight from orbit would be “pretty catastrophic” for astronomy.
Unlike light pollution from cities, which is at least unintentional, these mirrors would deliberately flood the sky with artificial light, potentially affecting observatories across the globe.
Others caution that anyone standing beneath a reflected beam would struggle to see stars at all, and viewing the mirrors through binoculars or telescopes could even cause eye damage due to the intensity of the sunlight.
Safety, Debris, and Environmental Risks
Beyond astronomy, the proposal raises serious public safety and environmental concerns.
Aviation experts warn that sudden flashes of intense light could distract pilots, especially during takeoff and landing.
The mirrors’ enormous surface areas also make them prime targets for micrometeorites and orbital debris.
Any collision could shatter the mirrors, adding to the already growing cloud of space junk and increasing the risk of cascading debris events that threaten other satellites.
Environmental scientists also warn that artificial nighttime illumination could severely disrupt ecosystems.
Nocturnal animals, insects, migratory birds, and marine species all depend on natural light cycles.
Sudden or repeated exposure to artificial “sunlight” could interfere with feeding, navigation, reproduction, and migration.
Human circadian rhythms could also be affected in regions repeatedly exposed to redirected light.
Not a New Idea and Not a Successful One
Critics point out that this idea has failed before.
In the 1990s, Russia experimented with orbiting mirrors under the Znamya program.
Those mirrors proved difficult to control, failed to deliver sustained results, and eventually burned up in Earth’s atmosphere.
Skeptics argue that Reflect Orbital is repeating a concept that history has already shown to be impractical and unsustainable.
Others question the economics.
They argue that the actual energy delivered by reflected sunlight would be negligible compared to natural daylight, especially given the staggering costs of launching, maintaining, and regulating thousands of satellites.
Existing renewable energy technologies, they say, provide far greater benefits without tampering with the night sky.
Who Owns the Night Sky?
Perhaps the most unsettling aspect of the proposal is how little oversight may be required to move forward.
As critics have noted, a single small company, with a few million dollars and approval from one federal agency, could permanently change the night sky for everyone on Earth.
That reality cuts to the heart of the controversy.
While Reflect Orbital frames its plan as innovation, opponents see it as a dangerous precedent, one where private actors gain the power to alter shared global resources without international agreement or public consent.
The question now facing regulators and the public is whether any company should be allowed to sell the sky itself.
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