The U.S. just approved a giant space mirror to test sunlight on demand

Space: A giant mirror to create “sunlight on demand” was just approved by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), despite opposition from astronomers and the public, and real safety concerns. The FCC approved the company Reflect Orbital to test one satellite, named Earendil-1, as a means of reflecting the sun’s rays back to Earth for extra solar energy and wide-area lighting. The light is expected to cover an area about five kilometers wide, and will require repointing every four minutes.

And this is just the start. Reflect Orbital plans to have more than 50,000 satellites in action by 2035, which they claim will be used across agricultural, emergency response, and other industrial sectors. There are many problems with this proposal, including impacts these satellites will have on human health and safety, as well as on astronomy and the low-Earth environment.

Flashes during mirror repointing could disrupt pilots and drivers. The light could also disrupt circadian rhythms of plants, animals and humans. Sensitive detectors in research telescopes, as well as star-tracking cameras on lower altitude satellites, could be overloaded and fried. The FCC said that the risks of harm raised on the record regarding Reflect Orbital’s solar reflector are unrelated to the Commission’s role in authorizing use of radiofrequency spectrum.

Satellite proposals for emergent space activities in low-Earth orbit are becoming increasingly outlandish.

The proposals have become so weird that the FCC recently published a document called “Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff.” Once the province of science fiction, American companies are now upgrading, relocating, and servicing satellites; manufacturing pharmaceuticals in space; building private inhabitable spacecraft; and conducting private robotic missions to the surface of the Moon. Millions of orbital AI data centers are also planned.

Corporations seem to be scrambling to launch anything that might persuade investors throw money at them: space advertising, hotels for billionaires, artificial meteor showers, space burials for cremated remains, solar-powered infrared beams to power data centers and a variety of orbital missiles. There are close to 11,000 SpaceX Starlink satellites currently in orbit above our heads. Anyone who wants to launch into low-Earth orbit needs to carefully consider SpaceX operations, or directly co-ordinate with them.

Otherwise they risk collisions, like the near-miss between a Starlink and Chinese satellite in December 2025. Even the Artemis I launch in 2022 and Artemis II launch in 2026 had small “cutout” windows in their launch timing to avoid satellites, including those belonging to Starlink. Co-ordination is good. Forcing it because one corporation has effectively occupied low-Earth orbit is not.

Indeed, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was signed by more than 100 countries including the United States, China, and Russia, states that, “outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation.”

Whether SpaceX’s extensive use of Earth orbits violates this principle is now being tested in real time. In February 2026, SpaceX filed with the FCC for one million more satellites for AI data centers. One million. That is 40 times as many satellites as have ever been launched for a single megaconstellation consisting of completely untested technology that may not even work in space.

Not only did the FCC accept SpaceX’s filing, but they did so at ludicrous speed. Scientists worldwide then had just 30 days to model the effects with woefully incomplete information on masses, sizes, compositions, and orbital distributions. Four other copycat AI data centre proposals have been filed by rival companies, for tens of thousands of satellites each.

And SpaceX just proposed another 100,000 satellites to interface with the million AI data centers that it already asked for. The FCC was originally set up to regulate radio broadcasts. But it is now being asked to evaluate many non-radio effects, including orbital safety, which it may not have the required expertise for. It would make sense to move some of this evaluation to the United States Office of Space Commerce.

However, recent budget cuts make that infeasible.

Consequently, the FCC will soon be asked to judge a daunting range of satellite proposals. They include a cluster of proposals to gather solar energy from space. One idea is to send solar power down to earth through high energy beams. These could change atmospheric chemistry and kill birds and other wildlife that stray into the beam. They would also require no-fly zones around receiving stations for airplanes and also satellites on lower altitude orbits, such as the orbits SpaceX just requested for 100,000 more Starlink satellites.

While many of these projects claim to solve environmental problems by creating clean energy or capturing it in space, they function as a form of greenwashing. The solar energy generated is only clean if you ignore the environmental costs of building, launching, maintaining, and burning satellites up in Earth’s atmosphere. The daily operations of all these proposed systems will have huge environmental consequences.

There are companies that have tested plans for removing space debris from orbit. This is helpful for avoiding Kessler Syndrome, a runaway chain reaction of collisions. But the debris, once removed from orbit, will fall into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will deposit metal and possibly impact Earth’s surface. It is unclear who is responsible for any resulting damage or deaths.

The majority of satellites in orbit today are American, and the main federal agency regulating satellites is not set up to do that well.

We are now seeing the consequences. While outer space is effectively infinite, low-Earth orbit most definitely is not. Satellites orbit the Earth around once every 90 minutes. This means the collision potential between two objects in orbit is large. The many satellites and rocket bodies that have burned up in Earth’s atmosphere over the last few years have already measurably altered it.

Preliminary studies show that using Earth’s atmosphere as a crematorium for tens of thousands of satellites will have devastating effects on ozone and other atmospheric chemistry. Astronomy is also under threat from some of the weirder ideas like space mirrors, solar sails and diffuse sky brightening from orbital debris. We are not here to argue against satellites.

Indeed, they provide a wide range of beneficial services to science and society. But each satellite comes with a cost that must be taken into account. Ultimately, this is an innovation challenge. Unfettered growth and exploitation of any environment comes with serious consequences, including to the long-term sustainability of the operations that depend on that environment.

Doing more with less is the engineering challenge that needs to be met if we want to continue to use satellites in orbit.

In January 2025, the first full moon as the Wolf Moon, was on its way to mark a bright start to the new year. According to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Wolf Moon would arrive on January 13th 2025. The Wolf moon would appear full for about three days. The Old Farmer’s Almanac first began publishing the names for the full moons in the 1930s.

The Old Farmer’s Almanac recorded that January’s full Moon came to be known as the Wolf Moon because wolves were more likely to be heard howling at this time. Other traditional names for the January Moon emphasized the harsh coldness of the season: Cold Moon, Frost Exploding Moon, Freeze Up Moon, and Severe Moon. The Wolf Moon would be mere hours past full phase during the occultation.

The Wolf Moon would be diametrically opposite to the sun in the sky. The zone of visibility for this event encompassed practically all of the contiguous United States, as well as much of central and eastern Canada. The Wolf Moon would be nearly 40 thousand times brighter than Mars, so in order to actually see it vanish or reappear you would need a telescope or at the very least, good binoculars.

A few hours before, or after the occultation however, Mars would be plainly visible with unaided eyes.

The disappearance of Mars behind the Wolf Moon’s bright limb for most places, would take anywhere from about 30 seconds to almost a minute. Mars’ reappearance would also be gradual. The Wolf Moon would appear to approach Mars from the west and ultimately passed in front of it, and then shortly thereafter, uncovered it, and left it behind as the moon continues to move to the east.

In the United States, the northern limit of visibility for this occultation would pass southwest to northeast along a strip measuring approximately 25 miles wide, a spectacular partial occultation would be visible in which Mars’ disk would be seen skirting the edge of the moon. To the north, outside of this zone, Mars would appear to barely miss touching the limb of the moon. Meanwhile, the southern limit of the occultation would skirt the Florida Keys.

In October 2024, the Super Heavy booster was now back at its launchpad, suspended mid-air between two massive metal arms called “chopsticks”. Waves of deafening cheers rang out on the livestream as SpaceX engineers and employees celebrated the achievement. While the Super Heavy booster’s job was over, the Starship spacecraft was still soaring through space.

The vehicle lit up its own engines after detaching from the booster and coasted through space.

A severe geomagnetic storm brought spectacular light displays to many parts of the United States, with skies as far south as San Antonio bathed in rich hues of magenta and green. The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights as they are commonly known, are often more visible in Earth’s polar regions, but due to heightened solar activity these dancing displays could be seen with the naked eye in numerous southern states. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the storm was ranked 4 out of 5 in severity, allowing for more widespread illuminations across night skies, particularly across Europe.

However in Lubbock, the Aurora Borealis was putting on quite the show across West Texas. Further north, auroras were spotted over Queens, New York, in an unusually colorful light display for such a densely populated area. The timing of the strong solar activity brought the spectacle to many other regions of the world, with photographers sharing images from England to China, and even Australia, where the phenomenon known as Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights, was captured in Fish Creek, near Melbourne.

Auroras appeared to rain down over pumpjacks in Alberta, Canada. Skies burst with red and green behind a windmill in Buckinghamshire, England. Lights showered a spectacular array of colors over the Kissing Trees in Kinghorn, Scotland. The Northern Lights, weakened though still visible, were spotted behind an observation tower in New Braunfels, outside of San Antonio.

Visible solar activity is significantly less common in more southern regions of the United States.

Illuminations could be seen over the Jinshanling Great Wall in China’s Hebei Province. A glowing red Kyiv was visible, as even the city lights did not manage to dampen the skies over the Ukrainian capital. Lights also trailed from traffic as fiery skies danced overhead in Brandenburg, Germany. In October 2023, 12P/Pons-Brooks followed a lengthy orbital path, returning to our vicinity roughly every 71 years.

Occasionally, the gravitational forces, orbital interactions, and cosmic collisions in outer space could disrupt the trajectory of an asteroid or comet, sending them on erratic paths that brought them close to Earth, potentially posing an impact risk. Fortunately, the majority of these celestial objects were relatively small and did not pose a significant threat of causing harm. A volcanic comet the size of a small city exploded as it headed toward the sun, emitting a cloud of ice and gas that looked like a gigantic pair of horns, the Devil Comet is a cryovolcanic, or cold volcano.

An astronomical spectacle, the Devil Comet, known for its ice volcano and distinctive horns, made its way toward Earth. While this massive celestial visitor might seem ominous with its fiery moniker, experts assured that it posed no danger to humanity. The Devil Comet, also known by its scientific name 12P/Pons-Brooks, first graced our skies in 1812, with a subsequent appearance in 1883.

One of the most remarkable aspects of this cosmic traveler was its status as one of just around 20 comets with an active ice volcano.

These unique cold volcano comets contained a fascinating mix of ice, dust, and gas known as cryomagma. 12P/Pons-Brooks was set to dazzle earthlings in mid-April 2024 when it reaches its brightest phase. At that time, 12P/Pons-Brooks would be positioned approximately 144,158,116 miles away from Earth. Comets were renowned for their unpredictability, especially regarding their brightness as they approach Earth.

While it might not become a household name like a total solar eclipse, 12P/Pons-Brooks was anticipated to be a splendid celestial sight, visible not only to stargazers with the naked eye but also to those with basic binoculars or a starter backyard telescope. 12P/Pons-Brooks’ fluctuating brilliance added to the allure of these celestial wanderers. 12P/Pons-Brooks earned its curious moniker when astronomers identified striking horns protruding from its nucleus.

The horns were actually tails of gas and dust that result from unusual outbursts still being studied by scientists. These outbursts happened when comets suddenly became more active, expelling gas and dust at an increased rate. 12P/Pons-Brooks brightened really rapidly and then sort of fades back to the brightness it had before. 12P/Pons-Brooks’ nucleus stretched approximately 12.4 miles, nearly twice the size of Mount Everest.

This colossal size set 12P/Pons-Brooks apart from typical comets, which generally measured between 0.6 and 1.8 miles in width.

This distinctiveness generated significant excitement among both astronomers and the general public. This Devil may have horns, but it brought with it a mesmerizing show that was set to light up our Earthly skies. The violent explosion seen by astronomers on October 5th 2023 was the second in four months. Radiation from the sun heated the comet’s insides, the pressure built up and the comet violently exploded, shooting its frosty guts out into space through large cracks in the nucleus’s shell.

The explosion produced a cloud that resembles a pair of horns. 12P/Pons-Brooks was first spotted in 1812 when comet hunter Jean-Louis Pons discovered it. The Devil Comet reached its closest point to Earth on April 21st 2024. The next time 12P/Pons-Brooks would be that close to Earth would be in 2095. 12P/Pons-Brook came in the wake of comet 2022 E3 (ZTF), the so-called green comet, and 2020’s comet NEOWISE, but looked set to put on an extra special display.

Generally, comets were between 0.6 and 1.8 miles wide, so the Devil Comet was big, an outlier, and rare. The Devil Comet might be bright enough that you could see with your naked eye or with binoculars, but that was not because it was super close, it was because it was just very bright. The solar system was a violent place, as evidenced by the fiery history of 12P/Pons–Brooks.

In March 2023, United States start-up Relativity Space was planning to launch its 3D-printed rocket Terran 1, skipping planned tests, and heading straight for orbit.

Terran 1 was the largest 3D-printed object to attempt orbital flight. Terran 1 was about 35 meters tall, making it one of the smallest orbital rockets in the industry, and 85 per cent of its mass was 3D-printed. Terran 1 was designed to lift up to 1250 kilograms into low-Earth orbit, and Relativity Space was charging $12 million per flight.