this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2025
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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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[–] Jumpropegazing@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 hour ago

this is one of the worst ideas that has ever come from capitalism dawg what the fuck who even thinks of this what rich fuck is gonna be paying to make it daytime at night....

its not just impractical, it is just entirely pointless and we already have way too much space pollution because of fuckin starlink

[–] kerrigan778@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 5 hours ago

So many companies and environmental damage just to get investors to dump money into terrible ideas.

Space debris target.

[–] NewSocialWhoDis@lemmy.zip 7 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Reminds me of this other terrible dystopian idea I saw the other day: https://nz.news.yahoo.com/elon-musk-announces-plan-control-182840080.html

Glad billionaires think they can steal the sun and sell it back to us now.

[–] loldog191@lemmy.ca 4 points 7 hours ago

Less Sun = Less Plants = Less Carbon Sink = 🤦

[–] VinnyDaCat@lemmy.world 8 points 9 hours ago

Thought I was in the boring dystopia community instead. I suppose I'll just continue to hope that this is too impractical to happen or that those responsible aren't competent enough to make it happen.

[–] HugeNerd@lemmy.ca 12 points 11 hours ago

Don't worry, this type of Space Nuttery is merely a way to extract money from even dumber billionaires.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solaren

None of the Space Nuttery fantasies will ever happen.

[–] aReallyCrunchyLeaf@lemmy.ml 24 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

Capitalism will steal the very foundations of life and sell it to you to make a buck. They will siphon the life force from the earth in order to benefit themselves. I honestly try and look at things dispassionately and put it all in perspective but DAM it's hard not to be emotional when you see what these fucking stinking pigs are up to on their mountain.

[–] abbiistabbii@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

Isn't this basically the plot of "who shot Mr Burns?"

[–] tooclose104@lemmy.ca 5 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

It's the opposite of that plot. In that episode, Mr Burns blocks out the sun in order to force everyone to use more electricity to increase revenue for his nuclear power plant.

[–] curiousaur@reddthat.com 2 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

If the mirrors are reflecting light into a dark part of earth, they are taking it away from a place that's experiencing daylight.

[–] tuff_wizard@aussie.zone 2 points 5 hours ago

Don't worry, they will only block light from poorer countries with a mostly non white population. very safe and nothing to worry about!

[–] veni_vedi_veni@lemmy.world 6 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

How? I would think the reflector would have to be near tangential to the area it lit up

[–] curiousaur@reddthat.com 2 points 4 hours ago

Oh shit you're right. I'm more lucid that I was when I wrote that and see how dumb it sounds.

[–] M0oP0o@mander.xyz 1 points 8 hours ago

Do they think the sun only shines on earth?

[–] Digestive_Biscuit@feddit.uk 2 points 12 hours ago

Wow yes. Had forgotten about this. They gave alternates of who killed him. I don't remember them all but for some reason I rember Apu and Maggie firing with angry faces. I need to watch that again.

[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 15 points 14 hours ago

This exact same technology naturally allows capitalists to force everyone to pay not to have their sunlight blocked during the day.

I mean, the technology certainly has benefits, not in reflecting sunlight onto the dark side of the Earth. Nobody fucking needs that. Instead it should be used to shade a few percent of sunlight in order to control Earth's warming climate.

But rich people gotta fuck things up. No single entity must ever be allowed to control orbital megastructures.

[–] Naevermix@lemmy.world 48 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

This is obviously a scam directed at venture capitalists. There's no way this is going to happen.

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 14 points 17 hours ago

Okay, but can we execute these people for putting this concept into the world anyway?

[–] minkymunkey_7_7@lemmy.world 10 points 17 hours ago

Suncoin for sale.

[–] axx@slrpnk.net 55 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

The future we hoped for: Dyson sphere, free unlimited energy

The future silicon valley shitlords are hoping for: let us sell you sunlight (or maybe lack thereof, wink wink)

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[–] Nomorereddit@lemmy.today 9 points 17 hours ago

What experts? Give me my Dyson spehere!

[–] GuyLivingHere@lemmy.ca 0 points 8 hours ago

Yeah, mirrors seem like a huge problem. Why not go with photovoltaics - a decades-old, proven technology, and just beam energy to a ground-based storage facility to be used later?

I know some amount will be lost in conversion and transmission, but you could still have underground facilities in cities providing extended daylight for good reasons, like to help people with seasonal affective disorder, or to grow crops out of season.

[–] slaacaa@lemmy.world 34 points 22 hours ago
[–] Surp@lemmy.world 29 points 22 hours ago

Rich people should not have the choice to have fucking sunlight in the middle of the night.

[–] rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 20 points 21 hours ago

Last time some rich fuck started screwing with people's access to natural sunlight, it didn't end well for him.

Two screenshots from the "Who Shot Mr. Burns" episode of "The Simpsons" showing Mr. Burns with a gunshot wound, and then collapsing onto a sundial.

[–] lightsblinken@lemmy.world 18 points 21 hours ago

please stop fucking with the delicate balance of nature, its the only nature i've found that works for me

[–] Quexotic@infosec.pub 17 points 21 hours ago (10 children)

Yes. Let's make the planet even hotter... Fucking morons.

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[–] kazerniel@lemmy.world 27 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Capitalism is at it again 🤦 What are they selling next? Air?

[–] Blackmist@feddit.uk 13 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Are we talking Spaceballs or Total Recall?

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[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 2 points 13 hours ago

Futurama did it first.

[–] krooklochurm@lemmy.ca 34 points 1 day ago (1 children)

If I was going to build death ray mirrors in space this is how I would pitch it.

Tf are people gonna do once you've built the death ray?

It's not about selling sunshine, it's about melting your enemies with the power of the sun.

[–] merdaverse@lemmy.zip 9 points 21 hours ago

Maybe we can hack it and use it to burn down Mar-a-Lago

[–] drascus@sh.itjust.works 11 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I just imagine the first places that put in in-door lightnig like "here now you can work later in the day" now they will be like "Oh look you can work 24/7 now it's never dark anymore".

[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 3 points 17 hours ago

We can already do that. Even outdoors, you put up sports field type lighting.

[–] ILoveDurians@lemmy.cafe 15 points 23 hours ago (2 children)

Does anyone else remember the scene in the movie called "The Core" where a giant beam of light started frying people and melting bridges?

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[–] notgivingmynametoamachine@lemmy.world 4 points 17 hours ago (6 children)

I won’t lie, the idea of sunlight on demand sounds interesting… but then capitalism ruins it before the environmentalists even had a chance. (not trying to downplay environmental science here, just being cheeky)

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[–] pjwestin@lemmy.world 8 points 21 hours ago

Scientists: One desperate plan we are considering to combat climate change is a series of gigantic mirrors to deflect sunlight away from the planet.

These assholes: OK, but what if, like, the opposite of that?

[–] richardmtanguay@lemmings.world 4 points 18 hours ago

So, they want to play God, eh!!?? :-(

[–] ZILtoid1991@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago (4 children)

New startup idea: iAir. Pay a certain amount of subscription for air, or we will choke you to death!

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