Lunarpunk

By 2030, a California startup called Reflect Orbital wants to fill the night sky with 4,000 orbiting mirrors that bounce sunlight back to Earth.

The plan is to use what essentially amounts to space-based disco balls to keep solar farms glowing after dark. The company swears it’s the next step in renewable energy. Astronomers and ecologists disagree.

The project’s first test run, a satellite named EARENDIL-1, is slated for launch in 2026. It’ll unfold a 3,600-square-foot mirror in orbit to reflect sunlight toward targeted solar farms. Reflect Orbital promises “continuous, reliable access to energy, day or night, to increase power generation.”

Astronomers warn that an army of orbiting mirrors would effectively make it “full Moon bright” every night, drowning out faint celestial objects. That’s catastrophic for observatories and not great for wildlife either. Countless species depend on natural darkness to migrate, feed, and reproduce.

Reflect Orbital’s FCC application is still pending. If approved, it could mark the dawn of a new era of perpetual daylight that will disrupt earthly nightlife as never before.

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