Startup Proposes 4,000 Orbital Sky Mirrors to Shine Daylight After Dusk, Draws Astronomers’ Fears

A California startup, Reflect Orbital, plans a constellation of up to 4,000 low-Earth-orbit satellites each carrying large tilting reflectors to redirect sunlight toward Earth after sunset, potentially delivering daylight-like illumination for hours. A demonstration mission (Eärendil-1) is in the works, with ambitions to scale to tens of thousands of satellites, raising major concerns among astronomers and ecologists about night-sky brightness, wildlife impacts, and orbital congestion before any large-scale deployment.