#spacepollution — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #spacepollution, aggregated by home.social.
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Article referenced in the commentary, from November 2025.
Seeking Profits, Private Companies Look to Light up the Night Sky
Reflect Orbital’s plan to deliver “sunlight on demand” using thousands of giant orbital mirrors is just the latest in a growing list of disruptive commercial activities in space
#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors
#DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol -
Article referenced in the commentary, from November 2025.
Seeking Profits, Private Companies Look to Light up the Night Sky
Reflect Orbital’s plan to deliver “sunlight on demand” using thousands of giant orbital mirrors is just the latest in a growing list of disruptive commercial activities in space
#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors
#DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol -
Article referenced in the commentary, from November 2025.
Seeking Profits, Private Companies Look to Light up the Night Sky
Reflect Orbital’s plan to deliver “sunlight on demand” using thousands of giant orbital mirrors is just the latest in a growing list of disruptive commercial activities in space
#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors
#DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol -
Article referenced in the commentary, from November 2025.
Seeking Profits, Private Companies Look to Light up the Night Sky
Reflect Orbital’s plan to deliver “sunlight on demand” using thousands of giant orbital mirrors is just the latest in a growing list of disruptive commercial activities in space
#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors
#DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol -
Article referenced in the commentary, from November 2025.
Seeking Profits, Private Companies Look to Light up the Night Sky
Reflect Orbital’s plan to deliver “sunlight on demand” using thousands of giant orbital mirrors is just the latest in a growing list of disruptive commercial activities in space
#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors
#DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol -
Selling the Sun
Commentary by cartoonist #JenSorensen :
"The FCC just approved the test launch of a space mirror-bearing satellite from a company called Reflect Orbital. The plan is to test one mirror this year, and scale up to a 'constellation' of 50,000 by 2035.
For a few years now, the company has been touting the illumination of solar farms at night as the primary reason for the mirrors. Setting aside whether this is feasible or even a priority in a country that is doing its best to undermine solar power, the company is openly promoting other, less noble uses: extending working hours at industrial sites, replacing streetlights in urban areas, and (as I mentioned in the comic) 'unforgettable nighttime experiences.'
For more background on why space mirrors are a bad idea, I recommend this Scientific American article from last year. Interestingly, this is not the first time this concept has been tried. Russia launched a prototype in the 1990s and abandoned the project. "
Source:
https://jensorensen.com/2026/07/15/selling-the-sun/#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol
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Selling the Sun
Commentary by cartoonist #JenSorensen :
"The FCC just approved the test launch of a space mirror-bearing satellite from a company called Reflect Orbital. The plan is to test one mirror this year, and scale up to a 'constellation' of 50,000 by 2035.
For a few years now, the company has been touting the illumination of solar farms at night as the primary reason for the mirrors. Setting aside whether this is feasible or even a priority in a country that is doing its best to undermine solar power, the company is openly promoting other, less noble uses: extending working hours at industrial sites, replacing streetlights in urban areas, and (as I mentioned in the comic) 'unforgettable nighttime experiences.'
For more background on why space mirrors are a bad idea, I recommend this Scientific American article from last year. Interestingly, this is not the first time this concept has been tried. Russia launched a prototype in the 1990s and abandoned the project. "
Source:
https://jensorensen.com/2026/07/15/selling-the-sun/#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol
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Selling the Sun
Commentary by cartoonist #JenSorensen :
"The FCC just approved the test launch of a space mirror-bearing satellite from a company called Reflect Orbital. The plan is to test one mirror this year, and scale up to a 'constellation' of 50,000 by 2035.
For a few years now, the company has been touting the illumination of solar farms at night as the primary reason for the mirrors. Setting aside whether this is feasible or even a priority in a country that is doing its best to undermine solar power, the company is openly promoting other, less noble uses: extending working hours at industrial sites, replacing streetlights in urban areas, and (as I mentioned in the comic) 'unforgettable nighttime experiences.'
For more background on why space mirrors are a bad idea, I recommend this Scientific American article from last year. Interestingly, this is not the first time this concept has been tried. Russia launched a prototype in the 1990s and abandoned the project. "
Source:
https://jensorensen.com/2026/07/15/selling-the-sun/#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol
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Selling the Sun
Commentary by cartoonist #JenSorensen :
"The FCC just approved the test launch of a space mirror-bearing satellite from a company called Reflect Orbital. The plan is to test one mirror this year, and scale up to a 'constellation' of 50,000 by 2035.
For a few years now, the company has been touting the illumination of solar farms at night as the primary reason for the mirrors. Setting aside whether this is feasible or even a priority in a country that is doing its best to undermine solar power, the company is openly promoting other, less noble uses: extending working hours at industrial sites, replacing streetlights in urban areas, and (as I mentioned in the comic) 'unforgettable nighttime experiences.'
For more background on why space mirrors are a bad idea, I recommend this Scientific American article from last year. Interestingly, this is not the first time this concept has been tried. Russia launched a prototype in the 1990s and abandoned the project. "
Source:
https://jensorensen.com/2026/07/15/selling-the-sun/#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol
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Selling the Sun
Commentary by cartoonist #JenSorensen :
"The FCC just approved the test launch of a space mirror-bearing satellite from a company called Reflect Orbital. The plan is to test one mirror this year, and scale up to a 'constellation' of 50,000 by 2035.
For a few years now, the company has been touting the illumination of solar farms at night as the primary reason for the mirrors. Setting aside whether this is feasible or even a priority in a country that is doing its best to undermine solar power, the company is openly promoting other, less noble uses: extending working hours at industrial sites, replacing streetlights in urban areas, and (as I mentioned in the comic) 'unforgettable nighttime experiences.'
For more background on why space mirrors are a bad idea, I recommend this Scientific American article from last year. Interestingly, this is not the first time this concept has been tried. Russia launched a prototype in the 1990s and abandoned the project. "
Source:
https://jensorensen.com/2026/07/15/selling-the-sun/#ArtificialSunlight #SpaceMirrors #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #LightPollution #BadIdea #ReflectOrbital #USPol
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Are We Going to Mess Up Outer Space Too?
As nations jockey for military edge in orbit, there is a growing threat from above
by Daniel Munro Updated 8:49, Jun. 19, 2024
"Over the past decade, however, space has become much more contested and harder to govern. Nearly 1,000 private companies now offer space-based products and services. Expanding #SatelliteConstellations offer better internet access in remote and developing communities, enabling more people to access online health care, work remotely, and connect with family and friends. Space technologies also support better weather and climate monitoring, improve navigation and transportation logistics, and enhance agricultural productivity through the use of land- and water-quality sensors. All this has contributed to a space economy with an estimated value of $447 billion (US), on a trajectory to reach $1 trillion by 2030. And missions focused on exploration and scientific discovery are expanding—including the US-led Artemis program that aims to land human beings on the moon for the first time in over fifty years.
"But this new space age poses substantial risks. #OrbitalDebris from inactive satellites, discarded rocket parts, and anti-satellite #weapons tests threatens the infrastructure on which our social and economic well-being now depends, as well as the lives of astronauts working on space stations. In addition to the 30,000 objects large enough to track, there are an estimated 1 million debris fragments—between one and ten centimetres in diameter—that are too small to be picked up by ground-based radar and surveillance networks. Experts put the likelihood of future collisions between these objects at near certainty, with potential for cascading and catastrophic damage including entire satellite communication systems being taken out and larger debris fragments falling to #Earth and threatening lives and #ecosystems."
Read more:
https://thewalrus.ca/mess-up-outer-space/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us#DarkSkies #DarkSkiesForAll #KesslerSyndrome #SpaceX #SpacePollution #KesslerEffect #MegaConstellation