US startup gets green light for satellite that beams sunlight to Earth

A US tech startup, Reflect Orbital, plans to alter the Earth's natural light cycle by launching a satellite equipped with movable mirrors designed to reflect sunlight back to the planet. The US federal communications regulator has approved the plan, which could create a 5-kilometer-wide illuminated area, potentially as bright as midday, for up to an hour.

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We're here because, for some reason, people just accept the Sun goes down at night. But what if all the sunlight that's missing the Earth can power the solar farms at night? We can basically sell the sunlight like it's a resource.

Founded by two young engineers, Ben Nowack and Tristan Semmelhack, Reflect Orbital has secured $20 million in seed funding. The company pitches itself as "the sunlight company," aiming to capitalize on lower launch costs in the space industry. The concept has garnered attention, including interest from the Crown Prince of Dubai, but has also drawn protests from sleep scientists and chronobiologists concerned about the potential disruption to human and wildlife circadian rhythms.

Reflect Orbital argues its technology could help "solve climate change" by providing an alternative to grid-scale energy storage. The company suggests that solar farms could pay to have sunlight directed to their panels during nighttime hours, thereby generating power. "We can basically sell the sunlight like it's a resource," stated Mr. Nowack in a 2025 media interview.

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Farmers will grow more food per acre to feed more people, more reliably; cities will have safer, evenly lit streets without carbon emissions.

Beyond powering solar farms, a company spokesperson indicated that the technology could benefit agriculture by increasing crop yields and improve urban safety with evenly lit streets, all without carbon emissions. The regulatory approval follows "extraordinary global demand" for their services, including requests to aid search-and-rescue efforts. However, the fundamental question remains: why alter a fundamental aspect of Earth's natural environment, and who gets to decide?

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The [regulatory approval] follows extraordinary global demand for our lighting and energy services, including most recently numerous requests to assist search-and-rescue efforts, and to save lives, in the aftermath of