FCC approves first launch for space reflector constellation

Reflect Orbital moves ahead with the company’s first Eärendil launch amid concerns from the astronomical community.

Move over, Starlink. A new constellation of bright reflector satellites could soon compete with the night sky.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved the first demonstration launch of Reflect Orbital’s Eärendil-1 satellite. Sporting an 18-by-18-meter (59-by-59-foot) reflector once unfurled, the satellite will test its ability to reflect sunlight back to Earth on demand. The company envisions more than 50,000 reflectors girding Earth in low Earth orbit by 2035, while many in the astronomical community have raised concerns about the project’s impact.

The first launch could occur as early as late this year. The FCC’s role in approving the launch was limited to allocating the radio frequency spectrum the satellite will use, rather than assessing the reflector’s overall impact. Reflect Orbital plans to launch three unfoldable test reflectors three months apart, starting with this year’s approved launch of Eärendil-1. Reflect Orbital CEO Ben Nowack states that the first three will also be used as revenue-generating vehicles for the company. The FCC approval notes a near-polar, 88-degree inclination orbit 625 kilometers from Earth’s surface for the first launch, suggesting a Vandenberg launch, probably with SpaceX.

Putting reflectors in space is actually a very old idea, going back to the Vietnam War and the early space age. Russia deployed a 20-meter (66-foot) space mirror known as Znamya-2 in 1992. Deployed from the late Mir space station, Znamya-2 created a 5-kilometer (3-mile) light patch as bright as a full moon that traversed Europe early on the morning of Feb. 4, 1993.

The mission name comes from a character in The Lord of the Rings who carried the light of the morning star on his brow. For context, the Echo-1 communications satellite deployed by NASA in 1960 featured a balloon 30 meters (98 feet) in diameter, just under twice the span of Eärendil-1.

Reflect Orbital’s plan is to use on-demand solar power for everything from extending working hours to disaster relief and agriculture. Read between the lines, and the U.S. Department of Defense could also potentially be a prime consumer of this technology. Certainly, the ability to generate and sell solar power at peak times has a lucrative appeal for the company.

Of course, the pushback against the plan extends beyond the astronomical community. Reflect Orbital states that Eärendil-1 is intended to demonstrate the ability to project the brightness of a full moon at magnitude -12.6 over a 3-mile-wide (5-kilometer-wide) area … but all that brightness would be concentrated in a pinpoint source rather than a half-a-degree-wide moon. Also, the goal of generating solar power from such a source suggests that Reflect Orbital has a much brighter goal in mind.

The night sky has been under siege over the past decade, as SpaceX’s Starlink, China’s rival Qianfan ‘Thousand Sails’ mega-constellation and AST Space Mobile’s Bluewalker and Bluebird satellites have all taken to the night sky. These were all incidental reflectors, photobombing twilight views. What Reflect Orbital envisions seems more like a direct conflict with the night sky.

The company is aware of concerns and has stated its wish to work with the astronomical community to provide pinpoint service while announcing when and where sunlight beams will be deployed. Key to this constellation of mirrors, if it comes to pass, would be the creation of exclusion zones for dark-sky preserves and major observatories.

Unfortunately, this might also mean that the truly dark natural skies on your doorstep could soon become a thing of the past. We already see the difference at nightfall, as the next ‘star’ you wish upon may very well be an artificial one. All-sky surveys like the Vera C. Rubin Observatory took decades to go from planning to seeing first light. They’re an investment on a national scale, threatened by obsolescence shortly after the observatory’s shutter opens. Plus, if this venture proves lucrative, perhaps the next startup in the field won’t be as interested in preserving the night sky.

Beyond the impact on astronomy, there are safety concerns surrounding the project for the public and aviation, as well as impacts on nocturnal wildlife and the potential for bright flashing objects in the sky to confuse satellite-based star trackers and more.

The American Astronomical Society has voiced the astronomical community’s concerns and, in a statement, “stressed the importance of advance modeling of the full effects of atmospheric scattering as an input to understanding the severity of these risks.”

The company’s plan to mitigate light pollution includes ideas to quickly pivot reflectors into a passive configuration when not in use. The company is counting on the specular (non-diffuse) nature of its mirrors to focus and pinpoint light only where needed. This first mission could test that capability, though it’s tough to envision scaling it up once thousands of reflectors are in space.

Who’s behind this story?

Swati Mestri

Swati Mestri holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space.

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Andrew Zinin

Master’s in physics with research experience. Long-time science news enthusiast. Plays key role in Science X’s editorial success.

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