Posted on 07/12/2026 1:08:52 PM PDT by BenLurkin
A Southern California company just received approval to test a space mirror that would reflect sunlight to dark parts of planet Earth.
The Federal Communications Commission issued a license on Thursday to Reflect Orbital, an energy company based in Hawthorne. The license officially allows Reflect Orbital to launch its Earendil-1 satellite using frequencies in UHF, S-band and X-band for “telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) and data downlink to support deployment and testing of a solar reflector.”
Reflect Orbital will only be allowed to deploy one satellite at a time for now, the license states.
“Earendil-1 will use a deployable, highly specular thin-film reflector that is motorized and steerable to ensure reflected light is only visible in the targeted area to reflect sunlight to a designated target on the ground at night,” the FCC’s license says. “Earendil-1 is a single satellite and a limited, short-duration technology test exercise designed to evaluate the feasibility of Reflect Orbital’s proposed concept and to identify any challenges associated with future iterations of the technology. The results of this single-satellite mission will inform whether the concept is viable and will assist the company, its prospective customers, and other stakeholders in assessing any future larger scale deployment.”
According to the documents, several entities were against the license approval for a number of reasons, such as radio frequency interference and space debris mitigation. .... “a flood of opposition” came in from astronomers and wildlife experts, among others, who said that the light from the mirrors could “distract airplane pilots, wreak havoc on astronomical observations and interfere with circadian rhythms — the light-and-dark cycles that help people function, animals and plants know when to wake and sleep, to bloom or to migrate.”
But federal officials eventually sided with Reflect Orbital due to public interest and “promotion of American innovation.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...
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North Korea needs lamps.
wouldnt it need a propulsion system to maintain its position? It would seem to me light itself would be a force in zero gravity... No??
Hmm. I see a giant with a magnifying glass burning ants.
What could go wrong?
Can it be made to focus a whole lot of light onto a small area? Thousands and thousands of watts?
On Los Angeles?
Remember what we used to do to ants?
Where’s Al Gore? Greta? Won’t this heat the erf up even more?
Let there be light.
Cats would be at a loss.
Ernst Stavro Blofeld would be interested on acquiring this mirror.
Tolkien named satellite!!!!
Make Greenland green again.
erf?
Big Business trying to play god again.
Mother Nature is not going to like having her natural rhythms of light and dark tinkered with. Certain types of bacterial life, plant life and animals (deep sea dwelling) were never meant to have klieglights thrust upon them for extended periods of time, just to satisfy someone’s academic curiosity.
I like the maglev train better and I hated that idea...
So much for that. Here's what the "Dark Sky Initiative" has to say:
What is light pollution? Light pollution is the human-made alteration of outdoor light levels from those occurring naturally.What are the effects? Light pollution disrupts wildlife, impacts human well-being, wastes money and energy, contributes to climate change, and blocks our view of the universe.
What can be done about light pollution? Following responsible lighting practices, passing dark sky friendly legislation, and advancing scientific research in this field are just some of the ways light pollution can be solved. You can get involved too!
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