Reflect Orbital won FCC approval for orbital mirror test Eärendil-1 on July 9. The US Federal Communications Commission authorized the company to build, launch, and operate the experimental satellite in low Earth orbit. That moves a disputed space-mirror concept from proposal to a permitted test mission.
Eärendil-1 and its 18-meter reflector
Eärendil-1 carries an 18-meter reflector and is set to fly at about 625 kilometers. Reflect Orbital says the satellite could briefly light ground areas 5 to 6 kilometers in diameter during the night, which turns the mission into a practical check on whether the mirror can steer reflected sunlight with usable precision.
The company is based in Santa Monica, California, and says the test is meant to evaluate its ultrathin, highly reflective, film-based reflector. Reflect Orbital also argues that the same system could support search-and-rescue work, emergency infrastructure, solar energy facilities, and remote construction sites.
Tyson and Kioko push back
The approval landed after nearly 2,000 public comments during the review process, and the American Astronomical Society, DarkSky International, and the Royal Astronomical Society were among the leading critics. Tony Tyson, a researcher at University of California, Davis and chief scientist for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, said, “Imagine the sky filled with moons,” while Betty Kioko of the European Southern Observatory warned, “For optical astronomy, this is an existential threat, and we hope that the regulators will share that view.”
Reflect Orbital wants 50,000 satellites by 2035, which makes Eärendil-1 only the first controlled trial of a much larger plan. The unresolved question is whether the satellite can direct reflected light with the precision the company claims.
