- Reflect Orbital plans to test a satellite equipped with a giant mirror that can redirect sunlight onto Earth to illuminate areas or boost solar power generation.
- Scientists warn the technology could disrupt astronomy, wildlife, plant growth, and human health by increasing artificial nighttime light.
- Supporters say the project could unlock new clean energy applications, while critics argue its environmental impacts require much stricter oversight.
In line with greater funding for renewable energy and cleantech in recent years, several companies have sought to use innovative technologies and techniques to enhance clean energy production. Tech and energy startups from around the world have raised funds to test out a wide range of technologies aimed at accelerating the deployment of renewable energy capacity and enhancing the stability of certain energy sources, such as solar power.
The California-based startup Reflect Orbital was recently granted permission from the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to test a controversial satellite fitted with an 18-metre-wide mirror, which the company hopes will help power solar farms and provide light at night.
In May 2025, the startup raised a $20 million Series A to accelerate development of its satellite. Reflect Orbital plans to launch the Eärendil-1 demo satellite into low Earth orbit before the end of the year. The FCC stated that the project could provide “potentially groundbreaking technology” that could advance American leadership in space.
Once in orbit, the satellite will open up a massive thin-film reflector that will be used as a mirror to reflect sunlight back to the dark side of the Earth. The startup aims to redirect sunlight onto areas between 5 km and 6 km wide “on demand”, with adjustable brightness “from full moon to full noon”. If successful, Reflect Orbital will sell the reflected sunlight to companies and municipalities at up to $5,000 an hour to use to illuminate streets without electricity or power solar farms at night.
However, not everyone is happy about the decision. Several scientists oppose the move over concerns that light beams could “flash blind” pilots, hamper astronomical research, and interfere with circadian rhythms, which could hinder plant growth, human sleep, and hormone release in humans and other animals. Others said the abnormal light could negatively affect the migration of nocturnal species, seasonal cycles in plants, and the rhythms of marine phytoplankton that underpin ocean food webs.
The director of public policy at the American Astronomical Society, Roohi Dalal, explained, “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.”
Over 1,800 comments were directed at the FCC over Reflect Orbital’s satellite. In addition, presidents of four international scientific societies representing around 2,500 researchers from over 30 countries have written letters to the FCC voicing their concerns. They requested that the agency conduct a full environmental review and set limits on satellite reflectivity and cumulative night sky brightness.
The president of the European Biological Rhythms Society, Charalambos Kyriacou, said, “We’re saying, please think before you go through with this, because this could have global implications for things like food security. Plants need the night. You can’t just get rid of it.”
However, the FCC said that space is not subject to the same environmental laws as Earth. Meanwhile, Reflect Orbital’s co-founder and CEO Ben Nowack said that the pilot project will allow the firm to collect data and verify that the installed safeguards can adequately control the light beams it produces. Nowack said, “We’re grateful to the FCC for recognising the importance of testing novel technologies in space.”
The startup has announced plans to launch a further 1,000 satellite mirrors by 2028 and a total of 50,000 by 2035 if the pilot project is successful. The mirrors on the final satellite could be much larger than that of the pilot, measuring up to 55 metres wide. The European Southern Observatory estimates that just one of the sunbeams would appear around four times brighter than the full Moon in the illuminated area.
The startup highlights the potential for the technology to provide clean, abundant energy. However, environmentalists are concerned about the rocket fuel burned to get satellites into orbit, which will produce large quantities of carbon emissions.
Reflect Orbital is not the only company aiming to extend solar power potential. Elon Musk’s SpaceX has proposed launching up to 1 million satellites to establish a giant solar-powered computing network in orbit to power artificial intelligence (AI) with orbital data centres. SpaceX says it could lower the energy and cooling demands of terrestrial data centres. SpaceX claims the network of satellites would deliver the computer capacity needed to serve “billions of users globally”.
However, the firm’s existing Starlink network of nearly 10,000 satellites has already been accused of creating congestion in space. Musk attempted to alleviate concerns by writing on the social media site X in January, “The satellites will actually be so far apart that it will be hard to see from one to another. Space is so vast as to be beyond comprehension.”
The launch of innovative satellites designed to produce greater solar power or provide clean light at night on Earth could enhance our understanding of space solar power and provide energy or light for a range of applications. However, light pollution has long been shown to be detrimental to the environment, meaning that the technology could be extremely harmful to human, animal, and plant health if deployed.
