Orbital mirrors set to beam daylight to Earth, but questions abound
The FCC approved Reflect Orbital to launch a pilot low-Earth-orbit satellite with movable mirrors to reflect sunlight to Earth, potentially lighting a 5 km patch for up to an hour; however, delivering meaningful daylight would require thousands of satellites with massive mirrors, making the concept expensive and likely less economical than battery storage, while experts warn about sleep disruption, wildlife and ecological impacts, and interference with astronomy as regulators debate planetary governance.