The Federal Communications Commission approved Reflect Orbital’s plan to launch Eärendil-1, an experimental satellite carrying an 18-meter-wide reflective surface. The mirror would redirect sunlight toward a targeted area after dark, producing a beam roughly five kilometers wide.
The July 9 authorization applies to one demonstration satellite, not the enormous constellation the California company eventually hopes to build. Reflect Orbital has described plans for more than 50,000 mirrors by 2035, creating what it calls “sunlight on demand.”
oh cool, more supervillains appropriating Tolkien
Servants of Morgoth.
Quite the opposite. The Star of Eärendil was a guardian of the Doors of Night, through which Morgoth was banished.
It was light from Eärendil, stored in the Phial of Galadirel, that was instrumental in defeating Shelob in Lord of the Rings.
So the supervillains appropriating Tolkien are not the servants of Morgoth, or is one of us misunderstanding?
There are no “supervillains” and Morgoth is a fictional character, so yes, one of us is misunderstanding.
Clearly…
“Sunlight on demand” is an exaggeration. The plan is to create a 5km spot of 0.1 lux, which is a bit brighter than a full moon.
Every time I’ve seen this news posted (and I’ve seen it a lot over the past few days) everyone has leapt to some very extreme conclusions.
Why is the FCC approving anything related to space?
To make it look like it went through some kind of evaluation done by experts, instead trump just saying it is ok after a payment.