Startup beams 'sunlight' on sleeping California town, then asks forgiveness from scientists

Residents near Lone Pine, California, stepped outside one recent night to find the desert blazing with light pouring down from the direction of Mount Whitney. Nobody had told them what was coming. One described the light as 'blinding.' What they were witnessing, without knowing it, was a rehearsal for beaming sunlight from orbit.

The demonstration was staged by Reflect Orbital, a US startup with plans to place 50,000 mirror-bearing satellites in low-Earth orbit by 2035 and sell sunlight on demand — day or night, anywhere on the planet, triggered by an app. The company erected large mobile lights near Mount Whitney to simulate what reflected sunlight from space would look like on the ground, comparing the brightness to that of a full moon. It partnered with a local search-and-rescue team, which it describes as its likely first customer base.

Search-and-rescue teams are expected to be our first customers, so this was a real-world test conducted alongside teams who would use our technology.— Reflect Orbital spokesperson

The company has federal backing for the next step. On July 9, the Federal Communications Commission approved Reflect Orbital's request to construct, launch and operate its first demonstration satellite, called Earendil-1. The FCC's memorandum stated the proposal 'serves the public interest by permitting Reflect Orbital to test emergent technology that advances American leadership in space,' according to Smithsonian Magazine. Earendil-1 will carry a mirror roughly 59 feet by 59 feet into low-Earth orbit, about 400 miles up, where it will focus a beam of reflected sunlight approximately 3.1 miles wide onto targeted spots on Earth's surface during darkness.

The company's pitch extends well beyond emergency lighting. Reflect Orbital says it wants to extend the working hours of solar panels into the night, reduce fossil-fuel dependence, illuminate crops, replace broken streetlights and support military operations — all by redirecting the sun's own energy. It aims to have 36 satellites in orbit by the end of next year, scaling eventually to its 50,000-satellite megaconstellation by 2035.

But the California demonstration — conducted without advance notice to the astronomy community or nearby residents — has sharpened opposition that was already building. On August 6, five organizations filed a formal petition asking the full FCC to reverse the Space Bureau's approval of Earendil-1: Earthjustice, DarkSky International, Environment America, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and the American Bird Conservancy. The coalition argues the agency approved a test mission without examining the broader consequences of the technology it would pioneer.

It is the Wild West in space right now, and corporations like Reflect Orbital are rushing to fill the gap.— Jan Hasselman, senior attorney, Earthjustice

This is an idiotic project. There are a huge number of unresolved questions and significant potential impacts. Literally all of life on Earth evolved based on the rhythm of day and night and there is a ton of data showing that messing with this is not a good idea.— Jan Hasselman, senior attorney, Earthjustice

The petition's concerns fall into three broad categories: wildlife, human health and astronomy. On wildlife, the coalition points to established research showing that artificial nighttime light disrupts the behavior of migratory birds, insects, bats and other nocturnal species that rely on natural light cycles to navigate, feed and reproduce. Because Earendil-1's beam would span several miles, thousands of people and animals beneath it could be exposed without any warning or consent.

We don't know how a space mirror is going to disturb wildlife, because it's never been done before, but we do know how light at night disturbs wildlife. Basically, every animal that has been studied at night, if you introduce artificial light into their environment, there is an impact from bats to birds.— Ruskin Hartley, executive director and CEO, DarkSky International

On human health, critics warn that disrupting circadian rhythms through unexpected nighttime illumination could harm sleep, and that looking directly at the reflected beam — as people might instinctively do when an unfamiliar bright point appears in the night sky — carries the same risks as staring at a solar eclipse. Optical engineer and LED lighting expert Eric Bretschneider drew that comparison explicitly.

Any time you have a solar eclipse, what do meteorologists, astronomers and eye doctors tell you? Don't look at it without protection. Why? Sunlight is incredibly intense. Their business plan is predicated on artificially re-creating the lighting scenario of a near-total eclipse.— Eric Bretschneider, optical engineer and LED lighting expert

People's eyesight gets damaged, so it's not a question of if it's going to happen. It's a question of when.— Eric Bretschneider, optical engineer and LED lighting expert

Bretschneider also questioned the technology's practical value, noting that cloud cover would limit its usefulness for rescue missions and solar power projects, and compared the glare to 'a helicopter shining a spotlight right at you,' according to NBC News.

For astronomers, the threat is both to their instruments and their research. Samantha Lawler, an associate professor of astronomy at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan who studies how satellites are changing the night sky, said Earendil-1 would be visible around much of the world during every orbit — meaning observatories everywhere would need to track and account for it. Telescopes amplify incoming light, raising the risk that a direct hit from the beam could destroy camera equipment or damage the eyes of anyone looking through an eyepiece.

Any time the satellite is above the horizon, it will wash out the night sky, so astronomers everywhere in the world will have to pay attention to where the satellite is. They have made no indication of how they will coordinate with observatories. That could destroy a camera on a telescope. It can also damage people's eyes.— Samantha Lawler, associate professor of astronomy, University of Regina

Climate scientists have added a separate objection. David Ho, a climate scientist at the University of Hawaii, noted that some researchers already advocate for space mirrors that would face away from Earth to deflect solar energy and reduce global warming — and warned that pointing mirrors toward Earth instead works in the opposite direction.

Global warming is happening because the Earth has a radiative imbalance due to the massive amounts of greenhouse gases we've dumped into the atmosphere. Some people are promoting the already unhinged idea of installing space mirrors facing away from the Earth to reflect the sun's energy in order to decrease global warming. Imagine wanting to turn those mirrors around so that the Earth gets hotter.— David Ho, climate scientist, University of Hawaii

Reflect Orbital has pushed back on several of these concerns. The company says its technology will help the environment by boosting solar panel output at night, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. It says it will avoid lighting sensitive environments, astronomical sites and national parks, and that the reflected sunlight can be adjusted or switched off by rotating the satellite. It also says it has had 'substantive discussions' with scientists and astronomers.

We welcome oversight and want to play a role in shaping it. We believe it is our responsibility to work alongside governments, scientists and regulators rather than ahead of them.— Reflect Orbital spokesperson

Critics find that posture hard to square with the California demonstration, which proceeded without notifying the astronomy community. The petition asks the FCC to conduct a full environmental review — including public disclosure of impacts — before any satellite launches, rather than after. As of publication, the FCC had not responded to requests for comment, according to NBC News, and Reflect Orbital declined to comment on the petition.

There is currently no government body that regulates satellite brightness. The concern is not limited to Reflect Orbital: SpaceX has disclosed plans to place 1 million satellites in orbit, and more than 18,500 active spacecraft are already circling Earth. The petition coalition argues the FCC's approval of even a single test mission sets a precedent for a technology whose full-scale version — 50,000 satellites — would, in Hasselman's words, 'really end the night sky as we know it.'

Why it matters — A startup is moving to commercialize technology that could permanently alter the night sky for billions of people and countless species, and the regulatory framework to govern it does not yet exist.

Sources differ on Whether Reflect Orbital's technology benefits the environment: Company says it reduces fossil-fuel dependence by extending solar panel output into nighttime hours. (theguardian.com) vs Climate scientist David Ho argues directing more solar energy toward Earth worsens the planet's radiative imbalance and runs counter to efforts to cool the planet. (theguardian.com)

Reported by theguardian.com, smithsonianmag.com, skyandtelescope.org, nbcnews.com