Selling the Sun

The FCC just approved the test launch of a space mirror-bearing satellite from a company called Reflect Orbital. The plan is to test one mirror this year, and scale up to a “constellation” of 50,000 by 2035. For a few years now, the company has been touting the illumination of solar farms at night as the primary reason for the mirrors. Setting aside whether this is feasible or even a priority in a country that is doing its best to undermine solar power, the company is openly promoting other, less noble uses: extending working hours at industrial sites, replacing streetlights in urban areas, and (as I mentioned in the comic) “unforgettable nighttime experiences.”

For more background on why space mirrors are a bad idea, I recommend this Scientific American article from last year. Interestingly, this is not the first time this concept has been tried. Russia launched a prototype in the 1990s and abandoned the project.