FCC Rubber-Stamps Orbital Vanity Project, Ignoring 'Existential Threat' to Night Sky
AI-generated image · US National Wire
In a stunning display of regulatory apathy, the FCC has cleared the way for Reflect Orbital to beam sunlight onto Earth at night, dismissing the concerns of the global scientific community as 'outside the scope' of its review.
OPINION: Let's be clear about what is happening here. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has once again proven that it is more than happy to act as a concierge for corporate ambition, regardless of the cost to the public commons. By authorizing Reflect Orbital to essentially install a synthetic moon in our orbit, the FCC is prioritizing a corporate vanity project over the actual utility and sanctity of the night sky.
As Wired reported, the FCC granted authorization on July 9 for the Santa Monica, California-based startup Reflect Orbital to build, launch, and operate a mirror satellite known as Eärendil-1. The experimental craft, which will sit at an altitude of roughly 625 kilometers, features an 18-meter reflector designed to beam sunlight onto specific Earth locations during the night. Reflect Orbital claims this "on-demand" sunlight could support search-and-rescue operations, light remote construction sites, and allow large solar panel installations to generate electricity after dark.
But the cost of this "innovation" is staggering. Wired reports that Betty Kioko, institutional affairs officer for the European Southern Observatory (ESO), described the project as an "existential threat" to optical astronomy. The concerns aren't limited to astronomers; the American Astronomical Society, DarkSky International, and the Royal Astronomical Society have all warned about the impact on nocturnal ecosystems and aviation safety. Tony Tyson, who serves as chief scientist for the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and conducts research at the University of California, Davis, painted a grim picture, asking critics to imagine a sky "filled with moons."
Perhaps the most galling part of this decision is the FCC's blatant refusal to do its job. Despite receiving nearly 2,000 public comments questioning the proposal, the FCC essentially shrugged. As reported by Wired, the agency stated that concerns regarding the impact on optical astronomy "fall outside the scope of our review," meaning they didn't even consider the scientific devastation as a reason to deny the application or set operating conditions.
Reflect Orbital is framing this as a "test mission" to evaluate a film-based reflector, but their ambitions are far from modest. Wired notes that the company envisions operating 50,000 satellites by 2035. While the FCC claims that any future large-scale constellation would require new approvals, we have seen this movie before. The agency is rubber-stamping the "experimental" phase, giving the company a foothold to push for a global industry that would radically transform the night sky.
Reflect Orbital claims it will engage with stakeholders and measure real-world impacts, but the damage begins the moment Eärendil-1 reflects its first beam. The FCC has signaled that as long as a company calls it a "technology demonstration," the agency is happy to ignore the screams of the scientific community.