Reflect Orbital to Test Sunlight-Reflecting Satellites
A Hawthorne, California company's plan to reflect sunlight onto Earth after dark has drawn a warning from 28 scientific organizations.
Updated on Nov. 15, 2026 in Space
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Reflect Orbital, a U.S. company based in Hawthorne, California, plans to launch a constellation of satellites that reflect sunlight onto Earth after sunset. The American Astronomical Society and 27 other scientific organizations have warned of potentially devastating consequences for ground-based astronomy.
Why it matters
The company says the system could provide extra light for solar farms, search-and-rescue operations and extended industrial hours. Astronomers argue that reflected light could disrupt observatories that depend on dark skies, and Princeton University astrophysicist Gaspar Bakos described the project as the end of ground-based astronomy.
The Eärendil-1 demonstration satellite carries four steerable reflector panels forming a 193-square-foot reflective array. The company's plan to build a constellation of up to 50,000 satellites by 2035 has not yet been tested at scale.
The players
Reflect Orbital
A U.S. company founded in 2021 by Ben Nowack and Tristan Semmelhack, headquartered in Hawthorne, California, that is developing satellites to reflect sunlight onto Earth.
American Astronomical Society
A professional organization of astronomers that, together with 27 other scientific organizations, warned of potentially devastating consequences for ground-based astronomy.
Gaspar Bakos
An astrophysicist at Princeton University who described the Reflect Orbital project as the end of ground-based astronomy.
Michael Brown
An Australian astronomer who estimated the cost of the endeavor could reach $20 million.
The details
Reflect Orbital, founded in 2021 by Ben Nowack and Tristan Semmelhack, would use steerable reflector panels to direct sunlight onto targeted areas of Earth. The company plans to develop the technology in stages, testing individual spacecraft before large-scale commercial deployment, and says it will share satellite positions in advance and avoid aiming reflections at observatories.
Timeline
October 2026: Reflect Orbital filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for the developmental satellite Eärendil-0.
April 2027: Eärendil-0 is scheduled to launch no earlier than this month.
2027: The company plans 36 satellite deployments.
2035: The company targets a constellation of 50,000 satellites.
Roadmap
Concern over satellite constellations has grown since large networks such as Starlink began launching, and astronomers have repeatedly raised objections about orbital objects crossing their images. Reflect Orbital's plan goes further by proposing to add artificial light to the night sky on purpose.
If the plan succeeds, people in regions near solar farms and industrial sites could see extended operating hours under reflected light. Stargazers and observatories, however, would face a sky that is harder to observe, and the impact on night-time views is not yet known.
The takeaway
The debate over Reflect Orbital pits commercial lighting uses against the preservation of dark skies, a tradeoff that will be tested as the company moves from demonstration satellites to larger deployments.
What happens next
Reflect Orbital's developmental satellite Eärendil-0 is scheduled to launch no earlier than April 2027.
Further reading
For more on the orbital technologies behind this plan, see Space.
Source note: This article includes information reported by BGR.
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