FCC approves startup’s space mirror to reflect sunlight to dark parts of Earth
The one-satellite test is meant to evaluate reflected sunlight for nighttime solar power and disaster response, despite more than 1,800 public comments objecting.
- On Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission granted California-based Reflect Orbital permission to launch Earendil-1, a test satellite that will use a giant mirror to reflect sunlight to Earth after dark.
- Reflect Orbital aims to sell "sunlight on demand" to power solar farms or assist rescue teams, though the proposal triggered pushback from astronomers fearing intrusive light pollution and safety risks.
- The Earendil-1 satellite will unfold an 18-meter, 324-square-meter aluminized Mylar reflector to direct a 3.1-mile-wide beam of light, while critics warn of "temporary flash blinding of pilots and drivers."
- Citing the Communications Act, the FCC dismissed environmental objections as "unrelated to the Commission's role in authorizing use of radiofrequency spectrum," limiting approval to a single demonstration satellite.
- While this test satellite launches later this year, Reflect Orbital envisions surrounding Earth with a fleet of over 50,000 mirrors by 2035, prompting debates over regulatory oversight for large-scale space projects.
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32 Articles
Astronomers Alarmed As FCC Clears Giant Space Mirror Test
Reflect Orbital’s demonstration satellite, Eärendil-1 Image by Ben NowackXThe Federal Communications Commission has authorized California startup Reflect Orbital to deploy and operate a demonstration satellite carrying a 59-by-59-foot reflector designed to direct sunlight onto a five-kilometer-wide area of Earth at night, rejecting the American Astronomical Society’s request to block the mission. The FCC’s Space Bureau approved radio operations …
F.C.C. Approves Test Of Space Mirror To Light Night Sky Despite Outcry
The federal government has approved plans by a start-up company to test a satellite that would use a 60-foot mirror to reflect sunlight back to Earth after dark, as part of a project the company says would power solar farms, provide light for rescue workers and illuminate city streets. In a license issued on Thursday, the Federal Communications Commission gave the green light for Reflect Orbital of Hawthorne, Calif., to launch its Eärendil-1 sat…
FCC Authorizes Experimental Satellite to Illuminate Earth After Dark
The Federal Communications Commission has granted Reflect Orbital authority to deploy and operate a satellite designed to redirect sunlight onto Earth after dark. ... The post FCC Authorizes Experimental Satellite to Illuminate Earth After Dark appeared first on The New American.
Kreiszeitung
A U.S. startup is allowed to test the 18-metre space mirror Eärendil-1, which is intended to target sunlight on Earth.
The Eärendil-1 is a space mirror that Reflect Orbital hopes to put 600 km high this year; it will reflect sunlight to illuminate the Earth's night
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