One of the more memorable episodes of The Twilight Zone was “The Midnight Sun.” In that episode, the Earth was being pulled closer and closer to the sun. Daylight became relentless, temperatures soared.. People began to act as they would when light and heat never ends..
And now decades later there appears to be a company that is at least entertaining an idea that sounds like it could have come from the writers’ room of The Twilight Zone.
A California startup known as Reflect Orbital has been created with the goal of reflecting sunlight back to Earth after dark by using satellites equipped with large mirrors. While the concept is still in its infancy, the vision being presented is one in which sunlight could eventually be purchased on demand. The company has even suggested a future price of around $5,000 per hour for targeted illumination.
Despite hundreds of public comments opposing a giant space mirror that would shine a beam of light roughly five kilometres wide back down to Earth, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has given it the green light.
The company building the space mirror, Reflect Orbital, is touting its proposal as “sunlight on demand,” which could be used for any number of reasons, it says, such as agriculture, solar farms or for search and rescue.
Astronomers and other groups are sounding the alarm about the project, citing numerous reasons, including the threat to species dependent on a pristine night sky, the threat to important astronomical research and more.
At first glance, it almost sounds too far-fetched to be taken seriously.
Reflect Orbital was founded in 2021 by former SpaceX engineer Ben Nowack and former Zipline engineer Tristan Semmelhack.
Significant venture capital backing has already been secured from firms including Lux Capital and Sequoia Capital. It has also been revealed that the company has received research funding through the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research program, where possible military applications have been explored alongside civilian ones.
People most likely consider it a silly joke.. But the concept is real..
The first satellite is expected to serve only as a proof of concept, producing illumination that would reportedly be closer to moonlight than daylight.
That alone is unlikely to change anyone’s life just yet.
The longer-term roadmap, however, is where eyebrows may begin to rise and sunscreen needs to be applied at night..
Over the next several years, the number of satellites is hoped to grow from a handful into the dozens, then the thousands, and eventually, if the company’s vision is realized, to more than 50,000 satellites capable of directing daylight-like illumination onto selected locations around the world.
Whether that timeline is realistic remains to be seen.
It could very well turn out that the technology proves too expensive, too complicated, or too controversial. It is also entirely possible that regulators could determine the environmental consequences simply aren’t worth the benefits. Those questions have not yet been answered.
But with the FFC approval and money being granted by to the company by the military, this is not just a pipedream.. This is happening.
Concerns have been raised about circadian rhythms and whether introducing artificial sunlight into the middle of the night could affect human sleep patterns. Similar questions have been asked about birds, insects, sea turtles, bats, and other wildlife that have evolved around predictable cycles of darkness and light. And trees… and all of nature..
Astronomers have also expressed concern that an increasingly reflective sky could make observations of the universe even more difficult.
For now, what exists is a startup with an ambitious vision, experienced founders, venture capital support, military research funding, and a prototype that still has much to prove.
One day the phrase “I’d like to order two hours of sunshine for my backyard tonight” won’t sound quite as ridiculous as it does today.
If that ever happens, it probably won’t just be a technological milestone but represent the moment when humanity decides that even the night sky can be commercialized and sold.. If any of us have money by then..
A future problem may be sleepy neighbors complaining about second hand sun…
Just picture the other military rationale for funding this.. a war torn future conflict where the enemy can utilize the darkness of night for cover or pressing forward.. until that satellite lights up the midnight sky with a beacon of sunlight from a satellite high in space..
Get the sunglasses ready… to wear at night..