Thousands of mirrors orbiting the Earth could soon light up the night sky if a California startup wins U.S. permission to launch an experimental satellite that would beam sunlight onto solar farms at night.
Reflect Orbital filed an application this year with the Federal Communications Commission seeking approval to launch a demonstration satellite next year that would test the concept of using mirrors to reflect the sun onto the Earth after dark.
The company plans to eventually build a “constellation” of thousands of space mirrors that would deliver sunlight on demand to solar farms and anywhere else that wants to buy some rays.
Reflect Orbital CEO Ben Nowack said the company has received 260,000 applications from entities worldwide interested in using its technology. He said the solar rays could enable nighttime construction projects, help grow food, illuminate dark cities and brighten places such as Scandinavia that stay mostly dark during the winter.
Customers could order a ray of sunshine on an app.
“We are putting a joystick on the sun,” he told the World Governments Summit earlier this year. “If it’s dark out, you can now get sunlight.”
The company’s plan has raised concerns among conservation groups and astronomers.
Lighting up the night sky could disrupt bird migration and alter the behavior of nocturnal wildlife, including bats, turtles, frogs and moths, scientists have warned.
Astronomers fear increased nighttime brightness would degrade observations, obscure large portions of the sky and make it impossible to detect faint celestial objects.
The satellite-mounted mirrors would reflect a spot of sunlight 3 miles in diameter, nearly 8 square miles or more than 5 acres.
The beam of light would shine at four to five times the brightness of the moon.
“Needless to say, this is of extreme concern,” Michael DiMario, astroimaging chair for the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton University, wrote in the association’s newsletter. “We need to fight this as well as gather others in this fight.”
Environmental and scientific concerns about the technology are competing with efforts by green energy advocates who want to ramp up renewable energy production and eliminate fossil fuels.
Solar power in the U.S. energy grid grew by more than 25% last year but produced only 7% of the nation’s electrical generation, said the Energy Information Administration. Fossil fuels comprised 58%, and nuclear power plants generated 18%.
Solar energy’s main handicaps are darkness and cloud cover, which render it an intermittent source of energy that requires backup generation from natural gas, coal and nuclear.
Mr. Nowack said a constellation of mirrors circling in low earth orbit would increase solar output significantly by beaming sunlight to 8-square-mile circles where existing solar farms are idling in the dark.
“You want to get enough energy to match full-noon power,” he said. “You just keep adding satellites, and the spot keeps getting brighter.”
Mr. Nowack downplayed the concerns of conservationists and astronomers. He said the beam of reflected sunlight would illuminate only the 8-square-mile spot and nothing beyond it. The mirrors would be tilted away from the sun to avoid illuminating places that don’t need sunlight at night, he said.
“So you can operate a very large constellation of these satellites without bothering people, without blinding folks,” Mr. Nowack said. “We can light up one spot and not another spot.”
The technology may sound like science fiction, but it is backed by Sequoia Capital and Starship Ventures, which have invested $20 million into the company.
Mr. Nowack said his satellites would be placed into low earth orbit on rockets launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, where Mr. Nowack previously worked.
The company has already made inroads into the U.S. government.
In May, Reflect Orbital won a $1.25 million Air Force contract to “create and provide innovative capabilities” to strengthen the national defense.
Reflect Orbital officials did not respond to an inquiry from The Washington Times about the Air Force project.
If the company wins FCC approval to launch its first satellite-mounted mirror, it plans to deploy the equipment in April and use it to test redirected sunlight beams on ground targets.
The company intends to expand to 4,000 satellite-mounted mirrors by 2030. Mr. Nowack said that would reduce the need to burn more fossil fuels to produce electricity.
“You’re not going to have to worry about burning energy anymore. It’s just going to be like one of those things that you just launch more satellites,” Mr. Nowack said. “We’ll get it from the sun. It’ll last forever.”
• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.
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