Four Earthjustice-represented groups asked FCC to reconsider July approval
The Federal Communications Commission approved Reflect Orbital’s proposal in July to launch an initial demonstration satellite next year. In August, four groups represented by Earthjustice asked the FCC to reconsider that approval, citing concerns about opening the skies to mirrored satellites. Their request came as environmentalists and astronomers criticized both the company and the FCC over a potential change to the separation of day and night, with objections spanning light pollution, wildlife, human health and space debris.
Jan Hasselman, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, an environmental group, called the project idiotic and said it left a large number of unresolved questions and significant potential impacts. He noted that life on Earth evolved around the rhythms of day and night and cited what he described as abundant data indicating that altering those rhythms would be harmful. Hasselman said there needed to be discussion and analysis before anyone was granted the right to fundamentally alter the night sky. He called the proposal for 50,000 satellite mirrors crazy and said it would end the night sky as it is known.
The Earthjustice-represented groups said Reflect Orbital’s satellites would ascend to about 400 miles (645km) above the Earth’s surface before reflecting light back. The proposal would place large mirrors in orbit and direct sunlight toward Earth after dark.
Earlier this month, Reflect Orbital conducted its night-time light demonstration near Lone Pine in the Sierra Nevada region. Rural residents had been startled by dazzlingly bright light shining from nearby mountains and illuminating a swathe of the desert below, unaware of the demonstration’s purpose. One local called the lights “blinding.”
Large mobile lights were erected near Mount Whitney, and Reflect Orbital compared their radiance with that of a full moon. The company described the California test as a realistic simulation of how an orbiting mirror would illuminate the ground at night and said it showed one potential benefit: helping search-and-rescue teams and other emergency responders work after dark.
Under the July approval, Reflect Orbital’s proposed initial demonstration satellite would launch next year, orbit the Earth and carry a 59-foot-diameter mirror. The proposed satellite would reflect sunlight in 3-mile-wide beams at intensities ranging from moonlight to the brightness of the sun at noon.
Reflect Orbital partnered with a local search-and-rescue team for the demonstration. A spokesperson said search-and-rescue teams were expected to be the company’s first customers and described the test as a real-world exercise conducted alongside teams that would use the technology.
Other planned uses include bathing crops in sunlight, replacing broken streetlights and providing solar power for military operations. Reflect Orbital said those functions could be summoned by tapping a button on an app.
The company’s broader plan calls for thousands of giant mirrors in space. Reflect Orbital says it aims to launch 50,000 satellites in the next decade to illuminate parts of the world at night. A spokesperson said the company would keep working closely with local communities and authorities wherever it operates and was excited to show how the technology could help save lives.
Astronomers have said the nighttime glare would worsen existing light pollution and spur a rush to place more satellites in orbit. They pointed to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which plans to place 1 million celestial datacenters around Earth. Astronomers said the resulting buildup could obscure the stars and generate more space debris that could descend toward the world as pollution.
Environmental groups said animals including birds, insects and mammals rely on the reliable transition between day and night to feed, shelter and mate. They said a change to those cycles could be disastrous for some species.
Other concerns center on human health. Groups said scrambling night and day could disrupt people’s circadian rhythms while they sleep. Looking directly at the unusual sunlight at night could also harm people’s eyes much as direct viewing during a solar eclipse can, the groups said.
Reflect Orbital has said its technology would benefit the environment by increasing the output of solar panels when sunlight is directed toward them at night, reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Some climate scientists have warned against altering the amount of solar energy reaching Earth. Solar geoengineering proposals that spray particles into the atmosphere to deflect sunlight away from Earth rather than toward it have also faced fierce opposition.
David Ho, a climate scientist at the University of Hawaii, said global warming stems from Earth’s radiative imbalance caused by the massive amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. He argued that proposals to orient space mirrors away from Earth to reflect solar energy and reduce global warming would have to be reversed to make the planet hotter.
Reflect Orbital said it had held substantive discussions with scientists and astronomers about operating the technology so areas such as astronomical sites, national parks and other wildlife-rich areas would be avoided. A spokesperson said the company welcomed oversight and wanted to help shape it. Reflect Orbital also said it considered it responsible to work alongside governments, scientists and regulators rather than ahead of them.