By James Burkhamer

Chronicle Contributor

For a mere $5.000 per hour, you and your family can rent sunlight in the middle of the night.

Well, almost. The startup company providing this service isn’t quite there yet, but that’s their promise in a few short years.

People normally must travel to the Arctic Circle to experience daylight at night – but no longer. Far from being a far-fetch premise, this idea launched into reality in July 2026 – fully approved by the U.S. government.

The inconvenience of nighttime darkness may soon be a thing of the past, as technology advances at breakneck speed. While this may sound enticing, not everybody is convinced that this is the brightest idea.

Reflect Orbital, based in suburban Los Angeles, started operations in 2021. One of the company founders has a background at SpaceX, while the other is a Stanford dropout with engineering experience at Zipline (drone delivery).

The concept is simple – launch satellites into orbit with 60-foot directional mirrors. Those mirrors then reflect sunlight back to earth at a time and location dictated by the customer.

This idea was first proposed 100 years ago by physicist Hermann Oberth, before satellites even existed. The Russians experimented with the idea in the 1990s without success. However, this is now a private venture into space, a concept proven by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company (Starlink).

Orbital has nicknamed itself “The Sunlight Company”, and has raised more than $30 million in venture capital – with over 200,000 inquiries regarding everything from construction projects, to event planning, and even the U.S. military.

This is being taken seriously enough that the U.S. Air Force awarded the company a $1.5 million research and development contract through the Small Business and Innovation Research program.

Reflect Orbital received approval in July from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch its inaugural satellite, dubbed Eärendil-1, which is a reference to the mythology of the “morning star” from the novel Lord of the Rings (Tolkien).

The initial demonstration is small, with the satellite expected to deliver the equivalent of moonlight for five minutes. However, the company has lofty expectations for the future, promising a mind-blowing 50,000 satelites in orbit by 2035 if all goes well.

Government jurisdiction over outer space is murky at best. The FCC approved the satellite launch from radio communications and “public interest” perspectives – however once the company’s satellites are in orbit, no single nation has authority over them.

A number of organizations protested with the FCC, including the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and DarkSky International, a nonprofit advocacy group. The AAS cited numerous concerns, calling the idea “untenable”.

DarkSky’s mission is to “restore the nighttime environment and protect communities and wildlife from light pollution.”

Reflect Orbital cites several potential applications for its 3 a.m. sunlight. These include search and rescue, replacing streetlights, midnight beach parties with suntan lotion, increased energy supply, nighttime construction, farming, extended working hours, and of course – national defense. Imagine shining a giant spotlight down on the enemy at night.

The Sunlight Company’s ambitions are simple, as it seeks to harness “cheap energy that will last billions of years," according to reflectorbital.com. Orbital’s proposed constellation of 50,000 satellites would dwarf that of Elon Musk’s Starlink space arsenal – which is a mere 10,000 satellites (for now).

Opponents such as AAS and DarkSky have pointed out potential concerns. Examples include light pollution, interference with astronomical observation, sudden blindness to drivers and airline pilots, and disruption of circadian rhythms in humans and animals.

Another question that comes up is, what happens if a satellite malfunctions? Or worse – ALL of them? According to SciTechDaily, an intense solar storm could render every satellite in orbit useless for a long period of time, and impossible to navigate.

That would be a scenario of thousands of satellites colliding into each other, falling to earth, and unable to control whatever they’re supposed to control. There’s even a name coined for such an impending disaster: The Collision Realization and Significant Harm (CRASH) Clock.

Despite the CRASH clock warnings, Big Tech companies like Meta (Facebook and Instagram) are enthusiastic about the idea. Why? Big Tech has been vigorously flayed by the public because their data centers suck up lots of electricity on U.S. power grids.

“Orbital solar power”, as it’s called, would help solve this problem. Orbital Reflect and other companies would launch thousands of sun-reflecting satellites into the sky, beaming the sunlight down to solar panels – 24 hours per day.

Big Tech, with their infinite deep pockets, could finance all the satellites ever needed. Residents of communities close to solar panels couldn’t be happier with the prospect. (satire)

Given the interest of Big Tech and the U.S. military, orbital illumination systems will almost certainly become reality. If it’s not Orbital Reflector, it will be somebody else.

Meta is already negotiating with two other startups to reserve a gigawatt of solar space energy, according to tomshardware.com. While some people might be able to swing $5,000 per hour of 3 a.m. sunlight for a party or a giant prank, Orbital will require a 1,000-hour contract. What’s $5 million between friends?

The concept of orbital illumination has supporters and detractors, like most everything else in technology. The problem is that world governments only have so much authority over satellites in space, especially with the advent of private space companies like SpaceX.

However, Orbital Reflect is just the START of ominous satellite schemes coming our way. As we’ll see next week – 50,000 satellites with giant mirrors is mere pocket change compared to the payload of other big plans in the works, already FCC approved.

The science fiction story is just beginning.■

James Burkhamer is the owner of Miami Valley Power and Gas, a local energy consultant dedicated to helping small businesses and nonprofits reduce their risk and spending. Learn more at www.mvpg.org.