A California-based startup, Reflect Orbital, has unveiled a bold plan to sell sunlight on demand by sending 50,000 mirrors into space. The company is currently seeking approval to launch a 60-foot prototype mirror into orbit by this summer.
The mirror is designed to beam sunlight back to Earth, illuminating an area approximately three miles (4.8 km) wide. The project aims to provide sunlight for multiple uses, including:
- Powering solar plants around the clock;
- Supporting rescue operations in disaster-struck regions;
- Potentially replacing streetlights.
Reflect Orbital has applied for a license from the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and has raised over $28 million from investors. The company plans to expand to 5,000 mirrors by 2030 and 50,000 by 2035.
CEO Ben Nowack told The New York Times, “We are trying to build something that could replace fossil fuels and really power everything.”
However, the plan has sparked concerns about its environmental and ecological impact. Martha Hotz Vitaterna, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University and co-director of the Center for Sleep and Circadian Biology, warned: “The implications for wildlife, for all life, are enormous.”
The concept is not entirely new. In 1993, a Russian satellite named Znamya unfurled a 65-foot mirror, reflecting sunlight back to Earth and producing light comparable to two or three full moons.
