The US Federal Communications Commission has authorized Reflect Orbital to build and operate one prototype satellite designed to reflect sunlight down to Earth at night. The approval gives the California startup clearance to send Eärendil-1 into low Earth orbit later this year.
The authorization covers a single spacecraft, not the broader network Reflect Orbital wants to deploy. According to the FCC authorization, the agency cleared the prototype even as concerns remain about possible effects on optical astronomy, where bright objects in orbit can interfere with observations from telescopes on the ground.
Eärendil-1, named after a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, is meant to test the company’s core idea: put a large reflective surface in orbit and aim reflected sunlight at selected places on Earth after sunset. Reflect Orbital says the satellite will use a 59-foot, or 18-meter, mirror-like surface for that attempt.
One mirror first, a constellation later
Reflect Orbital has presented Eärendil-1 as the first step toward a larger system. The company plans to launch and operate a constellation if the prototype works, according to the material released with the satellite rendering. The company has described the planned mirrors as roughly 60 feet across.
The mechanism is straightforward in concept and messy in practice: sunlight still reaches satellites in low Earth orbit when a location on the ground is already dark. A reflective surface can redirect some of that light toward a target area. The FCC order does not turn that concept into a commercial service by itself. It permits Reflect Orbital to fly and operate the prototype under the terms of the authorization.
The astronomy concern is equally plain. Optical astronomers already contend with bright satellites crossing images and adding stray light to observations. A purpose-built orbital reflector raises the obvious worry that it could add another bright object, or a new class of bright objects, to the night sky. The authorization indicates the FCC allowed the test to proceed despite those concerns.
For now, the confirmed approval is narrow: one satellite, one prototype mission, low Earth orbit, later this year. Reflect Orbital still has to demonstrate that Eärendil-1 can deploy and control its large reflective surface well enough to send sunlight where intended. The company’s larger constellation remains a plan contingent on that test succeeding.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
