Overview
- The Federal Communications Commission approved Reflect Orbital’s experimental satellite Eärendil-1 on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, licensing a single test to operate in low Earth orbit under specific technical and schedule conditions.
- Eärendil-1 will not generate light but deploy an about 18-meter reflector to aim sunlight at ground targets for minutes at a time from roughly 625 kilometers altitude.
- The FCC authorization covers only one experimental unit and includes operational limits, so the move is a test of engineering feasibility rather than a commercial service launch.
- Astronomers, dark-sky groups and public commenters filed thousands of objections, warning the experiment could worsen light pollution, interfere with telescope observations, disrupt animal and human circadian rhythms, and pose aviation and lifecycle environmental risks.
- Reflect Orbital says the technology could help search-and-rescue, night construction and solar power extension, and the company has discussed much larger constellations if the demo succeeds, which would shift the issue from a technical test to a global governance and safety challenge.