Startup Aims to Bring Artificial Sunlight to Nighttime

Reflect Orbital's proposal to deliver 'a spot of sunlight on-demand' has sparked concerns among scientists about disruptions to the natural environment.

Mar. 11, 2026 at 8:53pm

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

A startup in Los Angeles County, Reflect Orbital, is seeking regulatory approval to launch satellites equipped with large mirrors that would reflect sunlight down to Earth, illuminating specific areas at night. The company claims this could benefit solar farms, industrial sites, agriculture, and more. However, the proposal has faced significant backlash from scientists who warn of the potential ecological and human health impacts of disrupting natural light cycles.

Why it matters

The introduction of artificial nighttime lighting on a large scale could have far-reaching consequences for ecosystems, wildlife, and human circadian rhythms. Experts are concerned about the cascading effects on food webs, migration patterns, and overall environmental balance, as well as potential health issues for humans related to disrupted sleep cycles.

The details

Reflect Orbital's plan involves deploying a network of satellites with 60-foot-wide mirrors that could light up 3-mile-wide circles on the ground. The company aims to have 1,000 satellites by 2029 and 50,000 by 2035, with the potential to provide on-demand nighttime illumination for a minimum of $5,000 per hour. However, scientists warn that the technology could scramble astronomy, aviation, and natural light patterns, with potential for light leakage beyond the intended areas.

  • Reflect Orbital is awaiting regulatory clearance from the Federal Communications Commission after a public comment period closed on Monday.
  • The company's prototype would feature a 60-foot-wide mirror.
  • Reflect Orbital is aiming to deploy 1,000 satellites by 2029 and 50,000 by 2035.

The players

Reflect Orbital

A startup in Los Angeles County that is seeking to launch a network of satellites equipped with large mirrors to reflect sunlight and illuminate specific areas at night.

Ruskin Hartley

The CEO of DarkSky International, an organization that has expressed significant disapproval of Reflect Orbital's proposal, citing concerns about the impact on the nighttime environment.

Ben Nowack

The founder and CEO of Reflect Orbital, who is excited about the potential to bring solar energy to nighttime applications.

Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse

A neurologist at the University of Pittsburgh who focuses on sleep and circadian rhythms, and has highlighted the potential health implications of Reflect Orbital's proposal.

Jamie Zeitzer

A Stanford psychiatry and behavioral sciences professor who has studied daylight saving time and is primarily concerned about the indirect impacts of Reflect Orbital's proposal on insects, plants, and food webs.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“From our perspective, this is clearly an unprecedented assault on the nighttime environment. Everything we know about the impact of light at night shows that it has a tremendous impact on ecology, on wildlife, plants, animals, fish, and, of course, on humans as well. We're extremely concerned that this [will] go forward.”

— Ruskin Hartley, CEO of DarkSky International (SFGATE)

“This sounds appealing, but in reality, it comes at a real cost to our health. The parallel to [daylight saving time] is striking: both represent deliberate interventions that misalign human (and animal) biology with the natural light-dark cycle. We have spent decades documenting the cardiovascular, metabolic, and cognitive harms that follow even a one-hour clock shift each spring.”

— Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, Neurologist, University of Pittsburgh (SFGATE)

“Insects and plants can be very sensitive to such light and it could be extraordinarily disruptive to the food webs on the planet. I also agree that it can, as current levels of artificial light already do, disrupt migration patterns. So, from a biology perspective, this seems like a truly terrible idea.”

— Jamie Zeitzer, Professor, Stanford University (SFGATE)

What’s next

The Federal Communications Commission is currently deliberating whether to license Reflect Orbital's first test satellite after a public comment period closed on Monday.

The takeaway

Reflect Orbital's proposal to bring artificial sunlight to nighttime has sparked significant concerns among scientists about the potential disruptions to the natural environment, ecosystems, and human health. The technology's potential impacts on light pollution, circadian rhythms, and food webs raise serious questions about whether the benefits outweigh the risks.