Overview
- The California firm Reflect Orbital has asked the FCC to authorize a 60‑foot prototype that could launch as soon as this summer and shine a miles‑wide spot of reflected sunlight.
- Company road map targets roughly 1,000 satellites by 2028, 5,000 by 2030, and 50,000 by 2035, building from an initial low‑Earth‑orbit test around 400 miles up.
- Reflect Orbital pitches uses such as powering solar farms after dark, disaster lighting, and street illumination, and cites a pricing example around $5,000 per hour per mirror under certain contracts.
- Independent analyses challenge the concept’s practicality, with one astronomer estimating more than 3,000 satellites to deliver about 20% of midday sunlight at a single site and warning that scattered light would extend beyond targets.
- Scientists and astronomers flag risks including circadian and ecological disruption, aviation safety concerns, and added skyglow for observatories, while observers note the FCC’s process emphasizes communications and deorbiting rather than terrestrial environmental effects.