Overview
- The Federal Communications Commission granted Reflect Orbital a license for one experimental satellite on July 9 to use radio spectrum and operate Eärendil-1, a narrowly scoped approval that does not greenlight a constellation.
- Eärendil-1 is planned to fly later this year to unfurl an 18-meter thin-film mirror in low Earth orbit and attempt to focus sunlight onto small, targeted ground areas as a technical demonstration.
- Reflect Orbital says it aims to scale to tens of thousands of mirror-equipped satellites by 2035 and lists engineering controls such as a contained spot, instant shutoff, and avoidance of sensitive sites.
- Astronomers, observatories and environmental groups warn the mirrors could brighten the night sky, harm faint-object astronomy, disturb wildlife and human circadian rhythms, create aviation glare risks and add to orbital debris concerns.
- Regulators and stakeholders say the test’s empirical measurements of beam accuracy, off-target scattering and brightness will guide any future approvals and could prompt review by other agencies or international bodies.