The Federal Communications Commission has given a California startup permission to launch and test a satellite that would use a giant mirror to reflect sunlight back to Earth after sunset, despite objections from astronomers, wildlife experts and others who say the plan could disrupt scientific research and interfere with the sleep patterns of living organisms.
Reflect Orbital plans to launch the satellite, equipped with a 60-foot-wide mirror that is actually a thin-film reflector, into low Earth orbit later this year. Ultimately, the company hopes to send as many as 50,000 mirrors into orbit. They would reflect sunlight to power solar farms, illuminate city streets and assist rescue workers.
“Reflect Orbital’s demonstration satellite is an example of a potentially groundbreaking technology,” the commission wrote in its order granting the license.
Scientists, however, say the technology could have serious side effects. In a June letter to the FCC, the American Astronomical Society said the mirrors could compromise the work of federally funded astronomical facilities. Astronomers rely on dark skies to see deeper into space, and amateur stargazers could face disruptions as well.
The group also warned that the project could temporarily cause “flash blinding” among airline pilots and nighttime drivers.
Other scientists caution that the project could interfere with circadian rhythms, which humans and animals rely on to know when to sleep or migrate and plants use to know when to bloom. In total, the FCC received more than 1,800 public comments on the application, most of them negative.
“It is clear that the activities that Reflect Orbital is proposing will have an impact on the Earth environment, including on human health, agriculture, and wildlife, in addition to astronomy,” the American Astronomical Society wrote.
The FCC dismissed those warnings, describing the concerns as “hypothetical” and saying that activities in space are not subject to environmental laws.
“Even if the commission had authority to review and condition these operations (which it does not), these harms are unlikely to occur,” the agency wrote.
Although the FCC has so far approved only one satellite, Reflect Orbital is already planning larger space mirrors. The biggest currently proposed would span 180 feet and shine the equivalent of 100 full moons back toward Earth. The company hopes to launch 1,000 satellite mirrors by the end of 2028 and another 5,000 by 2030.
Reflect Orbital argues that the satellites could reduce fossil-fuel use by extending the hours during which solar farms can generate power, potentially helping to slow climate change.
“We’re grateful to the FCC for recognizing the importance of testing novel technologies in space,” Ben Nowack, chief executive of Reflect Orbital, said in a statement sent to Fast Company. “This license is the first step toward rigorously testing our technology’s efficacy and the safeguards we have developed.”
The FCC said astronomers and others could raise their concerns again if Reflect Orbital submits a future application to launch additional satellites.
Beyond the potential effects on astronomers, pilots, plants and animals, scientists warn that adding thousands of satellites would worsen the growing problem of orbital debris. At a June 4 roundtable hosted by the National Academies, Tony Tyson, a distinguished research professor at the University of California, Davis, and chief scientist of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, said Reflect Orbital’s plans were “even crazier” than the proliferation of broadband satellites operated by companies such as SpaceX and Amazon.
Tyson also raised concerns that the mirrors’ thin-film reflectors could scatter sunlight across a broad area rather than direct it precisely toward a target. “Imagine the sky full of moons,” he said.