The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a license to Reflect Orbital, a start-up, to launch a satellite equipped with a 60-foot mirror designed to reflect sunlight back to Earth after dark. The satellite, named Eärendil-1, weighs 142kg and will orbit approximately 650km above Earth. Once deployed, it will unfurl a thin square mirror capable of illuminating a three-mile-wide area on the ground. According to the company's website, the reflected dot would appear about as bright as the full moon to observers below.
FCC approval and timeline
The FCC approved a license for a 'single demonstration satellite' on Thursday, July 13, 2026. Reflect Orbital aims to launch its first space mirror this year, with plans to deploy up to 50,000 satellites by 2035. The constellation would provide several hours of daylight-like illumination at 36,000 lux, comparable to natural daylight, and a constant 100 lux glow—similar to the brightness inside a lift or corridor.
Co-founder Ben Nowack expressed gratitude for the FCC's recognition of the importance of testing novel technologies in space. 'This license is the first step toward rigorously testing our technology’s efficacy and the safeguards we have developed,' he said.
Commercial model and pricing
Reflect Orbital intends to sell the reflected sunlight on demand via an app or website. The service would cost approximately $5,000 per hour for the light of one mirror under a year-long contract, with higher rates for one-time events or emergencies. The company suggests applications such as lighting emergency scenes, construction sites, or farms. Solar farms could split profits from extra power generated during extended daylight hours.
Concerns from astronomers and scientists
The American Astronomical Society filed a petition to block the project, arguing that the mirrors would exacerbate light pollution and clutter the night sky with bright objects. The European Southern Observatory estimated each satellite would be four times brighter than the moon or Venus, and from a light-polluted city like Munich, 'these hundreds of satellites would be the only “stars” visible in the night sky.'
Dr James Blake, a research fellow at the University of Warwick’s Centre for Space Domain Awareness, warned: 'Any large object placed in low Earth orbit has the potential to contaminate valuable data for scientific research. While innovation is to be encouraged, it’s paramount that we switch our thinking from what can be done in space, to what needs to be done in space.'
Biological and ecological risks
Charalambos Kyriacou, a geneticist at the University of Leicester and president of the European Biological Rhythms Society, highlighted risks to circadian rhythms. 'Having a beam of light wash over the world could also mess up circadian rhythms – the ancient light-and-dark cycles that tell people to go to bed, birds to migrate and flowers to bloom,' he said. The society, along with three other biological clock research groups, raised concerns to the FCC, coining the term 'orbital light pollution.'
Kyriacou added: 'The FCC appears to have ignored our concerns, which is disappointing as this development has planetary implications. I think that’s about all I can say – bit gobsmacked, to be honest.'
FCC rationale
The FCC denied the petition, stating that environmental concerns are not within its purview for space activities. The commission argued that it is 'in the public interest to make spectrum available to encourage companies to test new and innovative space activities, as it promotes American innovation and the new services and economic growth that come from that innovation.'
Reflect Orbital's concept echoes the James Bond film Die Another Day, where a villain builds a satellite to reflect sunlight for crop growth. Despite objections, the FCC approved the demonstration, emphasizing the importance of advancing American leadership in space.
