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A Big Night Light in the Sky? Start-Up Wants to Launch a Space Mirror.

Press/Media: Expert Comment

Description

The company is seeking F.C.C. approval to test an idea to reflect sunlight to Earth at night, possibly powering solar panels. Critics say it could be bad for people and wildlife.
 

 

Period9 Mar 2026

Media coverage

1

Media coverage

  • TitleA Big Night Light in the Sky? Start-Up Wants to Launch a Space Mirror.
    Degree of recognitionInternational
    Media name/outletNew York Times
    Media typePrint
    Country/TerritoryUnited States of America
    Date9/03/26
    DescriptionMichael Brown, an astronomer at Australia’s Monash University, calculated that the reflected sunlight from one satellite would be spread over about 18 square miles. That would mean that the number of photons hitting a solar panel would be about 1/140,000th of the rate during midday.

    Even with the 180-foot-wide mirrors, “over 3,000 satellites would be required to produce the equivalent of just 20 percent of the midday sun at a single site,” Dr. Brown wrote in his comment to the F.C.C. about Reflect Orbital’s application.
    Producer/AuthorKenneth Chang, Hiroko Tabuchi
    URLhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/climate/space-mirror-satellite-solar.html
    PersonsMichael Brown

Keywords

  • Astronomy
  • Space
  • Satellites
  • Renewable Energy