Prof. Sam LawlerOct 9

It's becoming increasingly clear to me that Reflect Orbital's fucking stupid giant mirror satellite, with absolutely NOTHING useful to offer, which will cause countless safety issues, ecological disasters, and destroy the night sky, is going to launch.

A bunch of astronomers and I have sent out a fact sheet about them to a bunch of journalists, but very few are going to write about this. So, let me try posting it all here.

Here's what I know about Reflect Orbital and all the downsides:

Show threadProf. Sam LawlerOct 9

Reflect Orbital (RO) https://www.reflectorbital.com/ wants customers to pay them to reflect beams of sunlight down from
orbit. This is called “sunlight as a service.”

Their initial plan is for each beam to be several times as bright as the full moon and at least 5 km in diameter on the ground.

https://www.darkskyconsulting.com/blog/the-dangers-of-sunlight-as-a-service

Due to the high speed needed to orbit Earth, each satellite will shine on one point for only
a few minutes at most (Reflect Orbital says 4 minutes https://thetundradrums.com/reflect-orbital-order-sunlight/)

Reflect Orbital

Sunlight after dark

Show threadYgorOct 9

@sundogplanets Unbelievable. @pluralistic did say that rent-seekers would try to control solar energy, but this is just beyond ridiculous.

https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/23/our-friend-the-electron/

Pluralistic: The enshittification of solar (and how to stop it) (23 Sep 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

BikePirateOct 10
Show threadD. G. Marshall

@ygor @sundogplanets @pluralistic

There's an old (1970s?) cartoon (which I can't find right now) of an executive behind his big desk.

"You want oil?" he asks. "We own the oil wells."

"You want coal? We own the coal mines."

"You want nuclear? We own the uranium mines."

"You want solar? We own...er...um...solar doesn't work!"

Oct 9 at 10:51pmWeb
Show threadNegative12DollarBillOct 10
@davidtheeviloverlord
Show threadJon GerdesOct 10

@negative12dollarbill @davidtheeviloverlord

Superb.

Do you have a date?

Show threadNegative12DollarBillOct 10
@gerdesj @davidtheeviloverlord
70s but I think the bottom left says Mike Peters/Dayton Daily News
Show threadJon GerdesOct 10

@negative12dollarbill @davidtheeviloverlord

Cracking cartoon.

We lived in B/W in the 1970's. There's a yellow tinge in the cartoon which might be an artifact of some sort or added later. It might be the colour of the page when scanned but the yellow tinge is not consistent.

Show threadChris HodgesOct 10
@gerdesj @negative12dollarbill @davidtheeviloverlord
When I've seen old newspapers stored at home, the yellowing hasn't been even. It depends on several factors, including light (affected e.g. by ink on pp1-2 for a scan of p3, if not kept dark) but also gas exchange with the air (as in old books that yellow from the edges). Then the scanner / user will adjust the white balance / white point. It may also have been saved at lower colour depth than we'd use now (and it's a low-quality JPG)
Show threadMichael RobertsOct 10
@gerdesj @negative12dollarbill @davidtheeviloverlord https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/1970s-cartoon-solar-power/
April 21, 1978.
Did a 1970s Cartoon Ridicule Anti-Solar Power Rhetoric?

"Still too accurate!" said one internet user of the satirical cartoon, which regained prominence online in September 2021.

Snopes
Show threadJon GerdesOct 10

@vivtek @negative12dollarbill @davidtheeviloverlord

In 1978 I was eight years old. The ozone hole over the Arctic and CFCs would only go mainstream a few years later. In the UK four star leaded petrol was still normal.

I thought my parents and grandparents saw the worst things ever - WW1 and 2.

They did, but as it turns out, the four horsemen of the apocalypse are still doing a brisk trade.

One day, we will have to pay the piper and our credit line will have vapourised.

Show threadChris HodgesOct 10
@vivtek @gerdesj @negative12dollarbill @davidtheeviloverlord
That's my entire life, within rounding error of <1%, since it was already well known how much they were letting us down. It's also almost exactly 46 years before I installed my panels, which produced 6MWh in their first year
Show threadChris HodgesOct 10
@vivtek @gerdesj @negative12dollarbill @davidtheeviloverlord
Interesting that Snopes shows two versions ("Feasible" and "Functional" for the last word) but doesn't comment on the difference, and the "Feasible" version pictured above crops out the attribution
Show threadD. G. MarshallOct 10

@negative12dollarbill

That's the one!

Show thread🚲Oct 10
@negative12dollarbill @davidtheeviloverlord With alt text:
Show threadJWM (Joe No Se)Oct 10

@davidtheeviloverlord @ygor @sundogplanets @pluralistic

They’ve found a way to monopolize that too, for the time being. Just control access to the grid!

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/california-derailed-its-booming-rooftop-solar-buildout-can-it-be-fixed

California derailed its booming rooftop solar buildout. Can it be fixed?

Over the past year, California regulators have kneecapped small-scale solar needed to hit the state's climate goals. These lawmakers are trying to bring…

Canary Media
Show threadBlort™ 🐀Ⓥ🥋☣️Oct 10
@davidtheeviloverlord
Which is exactly why it does.
@ygor @sundogplanets @pluralistic
Show threadtechghoulOct 10

@davidtheeviloverlord @ygor @sundogplanets @pluralistic

in case this is bothering anyone else

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/1970s-cartoon-solar-power/

Did a 1970s Cartoon Ridicule Anti-Solar Power Rhetoric?

"Still too accurate!" said one internet user of the satirical cartoon, which regained prominence online in September 2021.

Snopes