Space EnvironmentalismMar 9

"A start-up company wants to light up the night with 50,000 big mirrors orbiting Earth. Opponents say the mirrors could distract airplane pilots, mess up astronomical observations and interfere with circadian rhythms — the light-and-dark cycles that help people, creatures and plants know when to wake and sleep, when to bloom, when to migrate and so forth."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/climate/space-mirror-satellite-solar.html

#Space #Environment #ReflectOrbital #SunlightAsAService

A Night Light in the Sky? Reflect Orbital Wants to Launch a Big Space Mirror.

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.

The New York Times
Show threadPaul Wermer, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Mar 9
@space_environmentalism
Hasn't the public comment period closed in the entitlement process? Is that why NYT is covering this story now?
Show threadSpace EnvironmentalismMar 9
@PaulWermer The public comment period for the Reflect Orbital application closed last Friday (6th March). We understand that the NYT was following developments in this case as of several months ago, so it's unclear why the story only ran today.
Show threadPaul Wermer, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0Mar 9

@space_environmentalism
Because it's too late for people to take meaningful action?

(I appreciate your earlier coverage of this, and thanks to that did submit public comment)

Show threadSpace Environmentalism
@PaulWermer The article misses:
- reflected light from the entire area will be highly light-polluting.
- everything is lit in the area, instead of the 0.1% of surface area that is covered by roads/sidewalks
- the use of "green energy" for an inherently ungreen idea.
- light pollution and associated energy consumption could be reduced to 10% of the current values.
- the pollution of launch and de-orbiting
- FCC's refusal to acknowledge possibility of environmental damage from space.
Mar 9 at 8:39pmWeb