The night sky is under threat, and it's not just from the stars. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the first launch of Reflect Orbital's Eärendil-1 satellite, a project that could change the way we see the night sky forever. This satellite, with its 18 by 18 meter-wide reflector, will test the ability to reflect sunlight back to Earth, on demand. The company envisions a constellation of over 50,000 reflectors in low Earth orbit by 2035, which has raised concerns among astronomers and the public alike.
The idea of space reflectors is not new. It dates back to the Vietnam War and the early space age, with Russia fielding a 20-meter space mirror known as Znamya-2 in 1992. This mirror created a 5-kilometer light patch as bright as a Full Moon that traversed Europe early on the morning of February 4th, 1993. But Reflect Orbital's plan is much grander, with the potential to generate solar power and extend working hours, disaster relief, and agriculture.
However, the pushback on the plan extends beyond the astronomical community. Reflect Orbital states that the goal of generating solar power from such a source suggests that they have a much brighter goal in mind. The night sky has been under siege over the past decade, with SpaceX's Starlink, China's Qianfan 'Thousand Sails' mega constellation, and AST Space Mobile's Bluewalker and Bluebird satellites all taking to the night skies. These were all incidental reflectors, photo-bombing the twilight sky view.
Reflect Orbital is aware of the concerns and has stated their wish to work with the astronomical community to provide pinpoint service while announcing when and where the sunlight beams will be deployed. However, the creation of exclusion zones for dark sky preserves and major observatories might mean that the truly dark natural skies on your doorstep might soon become a thing of the past. All-sky surveys like the Vera C. Rubin observatory took decades to go from planning to seeing first light, and they're an investment on a national scale, threatened by obsolescence shortly after the observatory shutter opens.
Beyond the impact on astronomy, there are safety concerns surrounding the project in terms of the public and aviation, as well as the impact on nocturnal wildlife, plus the potential for bright flashing objects in the sky to confuse satellite-based star-trackers and more. The American Astronomical Society has voiced the astronomical community's concerns and stressed the importance of advance modeling of the full effects of atmospheric scattering as an input to understanding the severity of these risks.
Reflect Orbital's plan to mitigate light pollution includes ideas to quickly pivot reflectors into a passive configuration when not in use. However, it's tough to envision scaling this up, once thousands of reflectors are in space. Perhaps, we need something equivalent to the FCC, in terms of an authoritative international agency able to analyze and approve missions and their night sky impact.
In conclusion, the night sky is under threat, and it's not just from the stars. The approval of Reflect Orbital's Eärendil-1 satellite launch is a wake-up call for us to consider how our science fiction future will look draped across our night sky. We need to give some thought as to how it will look draped across our night sky. The future of our night sky is in our hands, and it's up to us to decide what we want it to look like.
