Reflect Orbital plans to launch thousands of mirror-equipped satellites to redirect sunlight onto Earth at night, but astronomers warn the project could devastate astronomy and disrupt the night sky forever.
A California-based startup called Reflect Orbital has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch its first experimental satellite as early as 2026, with an ambitious long-term goal of deploying up to 4,000 reflective satellites in low Earth orbit by 2030. The company describes its concept as "selling sunlight," proposing to redirect solar radiation onto specific ground regions at night to extend daylight for energy generation, agriculture, and urban lighting. Each satellite would carry a foldable mirror up to 59 feet wide, capable of illuminating an area up to three miles across with light as bright as four full moons.
But the scientific community is sounding the alarm. Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society in the United Kingdom, called the proposal "pretty catastrophic" from an astronomical perspective. Another astronomer warned that even a single mirror could blind telescope users, and thousands of reflectors would make stargazing nearly impossible across much of the world. And beyond disrupting observations, experts worry about hazards to aircraft pilots who could be distracted by sudden flashes, and the physical risks posed by large mirrors vulnerable to collisions with space debris.
Commenters online have expressed deep skepticism and concern, with many viewing the project as dystopian and ethically troubling. The community has drawn comparisons to fictional villainous schemes, noting that the first satellite's name, EARENDIL-1, borrows from fantasy literature in ways that observers found darkly ironic. Critics questioned both the practical feasibility and the economic viability of the venture, pointing out that reflected sunlight would be thousands of times weaker than direct solar radiation, making it nearly useless for power generation. And this comes at a time when EV sales have been waning in the US.
Space ethics researchers and engineers add another layer of doubt. Fionagh Thomson, a space ethics researcher at Durham University, noted that the engineering complexity is "highly unlikely to come to fruition," and pointed to Russia's failed Znamya mirror satellites from the 1990s as cautionary tales. In May, Reflect Orbital announced that the company raised $20 million in Series A funding.
Beyond technical hurdles, scientists worry about the precedent approval could set, potentially opening the door for other companies to pursue similar projects that would permanently transform the night sky. Astronomers argue that environmental risk assessments should happen before approval, not after launch, and that the broader implications for both optical and radio astronomy demand serious international consideration before any mirrors reach orbit.
