A Space Mirror Will Test Turning Night Into Day. What To Know About the Controversial Project

Human activity can already dam rivers, clear-cut jungles, irrigate deserts, and change the very climate. Now, our technology may be on the doorstep of turning nighttime to day. That’s the word out of Washington, where the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) just approved a proposal by the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company Reflect Orbital to loft a satellite with a 60-ft. wide mirror that will catch and beam sunlight back to the Earth, artificially illuminating a patch of otherwise-dark ground. The launch, which could take place this summer, is just a beta test of the basic technology, but Reflect Orbital—which bills itself as “The Sunlight Company”—has big things in mind. If this first satellite proves itself, mission planners envision lofting 36 satellites by next year, 5,000 by 2030, a