this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2025
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Controversial startup's plan to 'sell sunlight' using giant mirrors in space would be 'catastrophic' and 'horrifying,' astronomers warn (www.livescience.com)
submitted 18 hours ago by themachinestops@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/technology@lemmy.world
113 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

https://archive.ph/3WZrp

California-based startup Reflect Orbital aims to build a swarm of 4,000 giant mirrors in low Earth orbit to "sell sunlight" to customers at night. Experts warn that the mirrors could mess with telescopes, blind stargazers and impact the environment.

Reflect Orbital, which was founded in 2021, has recently taken the first step in a scheme to sell sunlight at night by bouncing solar rays off giant "reflectors" that can redirect the vital resource almost anywhere on our planet. By doing this, the company aims to extend daylight hours in specific locations, thus allowing paying customers to generate solar power, grow crops and replace urban lighting.

But experts say it is a wildly impractical plan that should never get off the ground. What's more, the resulting light pollution could devastate ground-based astronomy, distract aircraft pilots and even blind stargazers.

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[–] JoshuaFalken@lemmy.world 48 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

I disagree they are bozos. I'm actually coming around on the idea. Not the mirror thing of course, but the VC grift using a flashy idea. Millions of dollars and the only thing you make is a slideshow? Brilliant.

[–] SaraTonin@lemmy.world 41 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

It’s tricky business. The idea has to be plausible enough to attract investors, but implausible enough not to get looked at too closely by clever investors. Similarly, you have to drum up enough publicity to get interest, but not enough to get scrutiny.

Get the balance wrong and you get Theranos.

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 1 points 55 minutes ago

Theranos made a bunch of money for its creators, they just messed up by thinking they could keep lying, when they could have just admitted failure at some point and then moved on to the next grift.

Since then crypto schemes came atone and made it way easier to swindle dumb investors. So the VC grift isn’t as attractive.