From Watts Up With That?

By Anthony Watts

“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to… fry!” If you’ve ever watched Diamonds Are Forever, Die Another Day, or any of the other James Bond films featuring megalomaniacs with space-based superweapons, you probably assumed giant orbiting mirrors capable of directing sunlight at Earth would remain safely in the realm of Hollywood fantasy.

Apparently, no one told the Federal Communications Commission. In a decision that would make Ernst Stavro Blofeld nod approvingly while stroking his cat, regulators have approved the first step toward a commercial constellation of orbital mirrors designed to beam sunlight onto the Earth’s surface. What could possibly go wrong? -Anthony

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Via Spaceweather.com:

Since SpaceX began launching Starlink satellites in 2019, astronomers have grown increasingly concerned. It’s almost impossible now to take a deep-sky image without satellite streaks in the background. The mega-constellation numbers nearly 11,000 functioning satellites, and SpaceX launched another 1,589 during the first half of 2026 alone.

Soon, Starlink may be the least of their worries.

Last week, the FCC authorized Reflect Orbital Inc. to launch a huge space mirror named “Eärendil-1.” From an orbit about 625 km high, it will cast a moving, 5-km-wide patch of light onto the Earth about as bright as a full Moon. Later, the company could combine beams from multiple satellites to create much brighter spotlights. Reflect Orbital wants to launch 50,000 more by 2035, selling sunlight-on-demand to solar farms, construction sites and search-and-rescue teams.

If Reflect Orbital’s plan is realized, it could be calamitous not only for astronomy but also for the natural world as a whole. Nocturnal animals and night-blooming plants, tuned by evolution to the rhythm of day and night, would suddenly find their darkness interrupted by moving pools of redirected sunlight. Small favors? Reflect Orbital says the light will not be bright enough to start fires.

The FCC itself acknowledged some of these concerns, but noted in its order that optical astronomy and the environment lie largely outside its jurisdiction. They can only regulate the project’s use of radio signals. For now, no US agency regulates how bright a satellite may shine.

The company’s FCC application attracted more than 1,800 public comments, most of them sharply critical. Nevertheless, the launch of Eärendil-1 is now expected before the end of the year.