Small California town hit with ‘sky glow’ as startup tests science fiction tech
Night landscape with the Milky Way in Namibia in the Spitzkoppe area
By Daniel Farr
A small California town was hit with a dazzling nighttime glare as a tech startup tested its futuristic plan to beam sunlight onto Earth after dark — using powerful spotlights in the mountains instead of mirrors in space.
The Oct. 10 demonstration near Lone Pine illuminated a three-mile stretch of desert, giving locals a taste of the company’s ambitious vision to deploy 50,000 satellites over the next decade to reflect sunlight onto selected locations at night.
Reflect Orbital hauled high-powered generators and spotlights up Horseshoe Meadows Road near Mount Whitney, projecting intense beams onto the desert floor.
The company partnered with volunteers from the China Lake Mountain Rescue Group, who used the artificial illumination to practice nighttime search-and-rescue drills and stretcher carries under full-moon-level brightness.
But the technology has sparked public criticism and scientific concerns. Researchers warn that atmospheric scattering could create widespread “sky glow,” brightening areas miles beyond the target zone to levels exceeding a full moon and potentially disrupting nocturnal wildlife.
“This is not a ‘concern’ — this is like a bullet in your head,” Princeton astrophysicist Gaspar Bakos told Sky and Telescope. “It’s the end of ground-based astronomy.”
Reflect Orbital
Reflect Orbital
Others fear the satellites could enable mass surveillance and attract military clients, while raising questions about who controls the night sky.
Climate scientists have also blasted the proposal.
“This is an idiotic project,” Earthjustice attorney Jan Hasselman told The Guardian, warning of “a huge number of unresolved questions and significant potential impacts.”
Reflect Orbital has purchased two dedicated rocket launches from India’s Skyroot Aerospace to deploy its first experimental mirror satellites. Its initial “Earendil” mission is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.
Regulatory questions also loom.
The Federal Communications Commission granted the company its initial US demonstration license but explicitly said light pollution and environmental impacts fall outside its authority, leaving a legal grey area as responsibility shifts toward Indian space regulators.
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