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.
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)
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”.
Last time some rich fuck started screwing with people’s access to natural sunlight, it didn’t end well for him.
Rich people should not have the choice to have fucking sunlight in the middle of the night.
please stop fucking with the delicate balance of nature, its the only nature i’ve found that works for me
Yes. Let’s make the planet even hotter… Fucking morons.
They’re not going to reflect sunlight that wouldn’t otherwise hit the planet. This won’t add extra energy to the planet, just move it around a bit.
Are you being serious? I can’t tell, but if you are, that’s not how this works.
You either steal energy from somewhere/someone to redirect it around the planet where it’s dark, or, you add energy from what is not hitting the planet in the first place.
You can’t have a situation where you aren’t stealing someone’s sunlight and you aren’t adding sunlight
Yeah, but think of the potential shareholder value!
…allowing paying customers to generate solar power, grow crops and replace urban lighting.
What a great idea! There aren’t any other ways to generate or store solar power, grow crops beyond daytime hours, or create good urban lighting…
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?
Capitalism is at it again 🤦 What are they selling next? Air?
Are we talking Spaceballs or Total Recall?
We’re definitely spaceballs
Total recall gives me instant flashbacks to the mutant scene, the cool part and the creepy part.
They already sell air (of Mountain Fuji) in Japan.
Does anyone else remember the scene in the movie called “The Core” where a giant beam of light started frying people and melting bridges?
Yeah, I 'member.
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.
Maybe we can hack it and use it to burn down Mar-a-Lago
I remember the mickey mouse series where scroge did just that, or was it donald. That was from way before year 2000 BTW.
So what’s next, solar roadways?
this startup’s CEO and finding members should be trialed for crimes against humanity
Don’t worry they’ll get bought up by starlink or Palintir.
New startup idea: iAir. Pay a certain amount of subscription for air, or we will choke you to death!
Mel Brooks had this covered in Spaceballs.
Red Dwarf did this in an Episode as well where the new AI decides he’s not crew and no longer has a subscription to air.
To a lesser extent, so did the Lorax’s Aloysius O’Hare.
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