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This company wants to sell you sunlight at night from space (www.vice.com)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Reflect Orbital, a California startup, has opened applications for anyone who wants to use a satellite with a mirror on it to reflect sunlight to a specific location on Earth after dark. You might be wondering: What?

A few years ago, VICE spoke with Reflect Orbital’s founder and CEO, Ben Nowack, about his plans to generate solar power at night.

“I had an interesting way to solve the real issue with solar power. It’s this unstoppable force,” Nowack said in the interview. “Everybody’s installing so many solar panels everywhere. It’s really a great candidate to power humanity. But sunlight turns off. It’s called nighttime. If you solve that fundamental problem, you fix solar everywhere.”

The company’s orbital mirror is set to launch in 2025, and you can “apply for sunlight” for the next few months. There’s “limited availability,” and already supposedly over 30,000 applications. It really just sounds like a one-time test, though: you only get four minutes for a diameter of 5km. No price is listed.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 3 months ago (2 children)

It takes a special mind to figure out they need to "solve" nighttime.

That said, I wonder if you could use it to screw with people. Would it also have military applications? What if you could light up the area you were about to attack and then come at them out of the dark. Also useful against vampires. Once you start thinking about it, the applications are endless.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Military applications abound. Just have a dozen of them in space and point at one location. There has never been a cheaper way to kill everyone in a 5 km radius.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago

To produce just regular intensity sunlight in a 5km area, you need at least 5km of orbital mirrors. The largest mirrors in space today are on the order of meters.

This is just a scam, its never going to produce viable sunlight or weapons.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The psychological impact of having daylight 24/7 would be pretty dire alone.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

How much light pollution do you want? And how much would you like to fuck up the cycle of the ecosystem?

That CEO guy: yes and FUCK YES!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

That's not a moon!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

Seems like a great way to accelerate Kessler Syndrome.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Also useful against vampires.

This is effectively moonlight, isn't it? I thought vampires could survive that.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Spoilsport.

Back to my plan to make it rain holy water.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

There's a Martin Mars flying boat that's recently been restored to flying condition.