The sun rises for nothing

In 2024, you no longer need to leave your house for groceries or a quick meal. But what if you could order a ray of sunlight in the middle of the night? It sounds like science fiction, but for Californian company Reflect Orbital, this will soon become reality. The saying 'There's no such thing as a free lunch' takes on a whole new meaning.

In 2024, you won’t have to leave the house to go grocery shopping or grab a quick meal. But what if you could order a ray of sunlight in the middle of the night? Sounds like science fiction, but for the Californian company Reflect Orbital, this will soon become a reality. The saying ‘There’s no such thing as a free lunch’ will take on a whole new meaning…

The startup has ambitious plans to harness the power of the sun in a new way. Reflect Orbital wants to send a giant mirror into space, attached to a satellite that can orient the mirror to reflect sunlight onto a specific location on Earth.

Although the idea sounds innovative, the startup itself is not new. Founder and CEO Ben Nowack already presented the company in April at the International Conference on Energy from Space in London: “We want to make the process as simple as possible. You just log on to a website, enter your GPS coordinates and we’ll make sure you get some sunlight even after the sun goes down.” 

New things to play with on the website! pic.twitter.com/NJcOjFSblf

— Ben Nowack (@bennbuilds) August 22, 2024

Commercializing sunlight

The company’s website is currently divided into two sections. The first focuses on bringing light to a spot on Earth after sunset, ostensibly for fun. The other section is about delivering solar power to a solar farm when the sun isn’t shining. According to Nowack, the company is developing a whole constellation of satellites to sell sunlight to solar farms after sunset: “By reflecting sunlight, which is infinitely available in space, to specific targets on the ground, we can create a world where solar power plants are powered for longer than just the daytime, thus commercializing sunlight,” he wrote.

On the company’s website, visitors are invited to reserve a spot of light, with deliveries starting in Q4 2025. However, the plan raises many questions, such as whether the satellites can actually provide enough sunlight and whether it could disrupt the flora and fauna on Earth if used on a large scale. So far, the company has shown at least one thing and that is the ability to attract a lot of attention online. Until the end of 2025, an old-fashioned tanning bed will probably remain your best friend…