FCC approves test of space mirror to light night sky

美国联邦通信委员会批准太空镜测试，旨在照亮夜空

Reflect Orbital’s plans to have more than 50,000 satellites reflecting sunlight back to earth could disrupt the circadian rhythms of plants, animals and humans. (Unsplash/Mariana Proença) A giant mirror to create “sunlight on demand” was just approved by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), despite opposition from astronomers and the public, and real safety concerns.

Reflect Orbital 计划部署超过 50,000 颗卫星将阳光反射回地球，这可能会扰乱植物、动物和人类的昼夜节律。（图片来源：Unsplash/Mariana Proença）尽管遭到天文学家和公众的反对，并存在切实的安全性担忧，美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）刚刚批准了一面旨在创造“按需阳光”的巨型反射镜项目。

The FCC approved the company Reflect Orbital to test one satellite, named Earendil-1, as a means of reflecting the sun’s rays back to Earth for extra solar energy and wide-area lighting. The light is expected to cover an area about five kilometres wide, and will require repointing every four minutes. And this is just the start. Reflect Orbital plans to have more than 50,000 satellites in action by 2035, which they claim will be used across agricultural, emergency response and other industrial sectors.

FCC 批准了 Reflect Orbital 公司测试一颗名为 Earendil-1 的卫星，该卫星旨在将太阳光反射回地球，以提供额外的太阳能和广域照明。预计光照覆盖范围约为五公里宽，且每四分钟需要重新调整一次方向。而这仅仅是个开始，Reflect Orbital 计划到 2035 年投入超过 50,000 颗卫星，并声称这些卫星将应用于农业、应急响应及其他工业领域。

There are many problems with this proposal, including impacts these satellites will have on human health and safety, as well as on astronomy and the low-Earth environment. Flashes during mirror repointing could disrupt pilots and drivers. The light could also disrupt circadian rhythms of plants, animals and humans. Sensitive detectors in research telescopes, as well as star-tracking cameras on lower altitude satellites, could be overloaded and fried. The FCC said that the “risks of harm raised on the record regarding Reflect Orbital’s solar reflector are unrelated to the Commission’s role in authorizing use of radiofrequency spectrum.” Reflect orbital brands itself as, ‘the sunlight company.’ (Reflect Orbital)

该提案存在诸多问题，包括这些卫星对人类健康与安全、天文学以及近地环境的影响。反射镜调整方向时产生的闪光可能会干扰飞行员和驾驶员。这种光线还可能扰乱植物、动物和人类的昼夜节律。研究型望远镜中的灵敏探测器，以及低轨道卫星上的星敏感器，都可能因过载而损坏。FCC 表示，“关于 Reflect Orbital 太阳能反射器所提出的危害风险，与委员会在授权使用射频频谱方面的职责无关。”Reflect Orbital 将自己标榜为“阳光公司”。（图片来源：Reflect Orbital）

‘Weird space stuff’ “古怪的太空玩意”

Satellite proposals for “emergent space activities” in low-Earth orbit are becoming increasingly outlandish. The proposals have become so weird, in fact, that the FCC recently published a document called “Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff.” “Once the province of science fiction,” this document states, “American companies are now upgrading, relocating and servicing satellites; manufacturing pharmaceuticals in space; building private inhabitable spacecraft; and conducting private robotic missions to the surface of the Moon.” Millions of orbital AI data centres are also planned.

近地轨道上针对“新兴太空活动”的卫星提案正变得越来越离奇。事实上，这些提案已经变得如此古怪，以至于 FCC 最近发布了一份名为《古怪太空玩意的频谱丰度》（Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff）的文件。文件中写道：“曾经属于科幻小说的领域，如今美国公司正在升级、搬迁和维护卫星；在太空中制造药物；建造私人宜居航天器；并开展私人机器人登月任务。”此外，还有数以百万计的轨道 AI 数据中心计划正在筹备中。

Corporations seem to be scrambling to launch anything that might persuade investors throw money at them: space advertising, hotels for billionaires, artificial meteor showers, space burials for cremated remains, solar-powered infrared beams to power data centres and a variety of orbital missiles. The phrase “weird space stuff” is refreshingly truthful. So, how did we get here?

各大企业似乎都在争先恐后地发射任何可能说服投资者掏钱的项目：太空广告、亿万富翁酒店、人造流星雨、骨灰太空葬礼、为数据中心供电的太阳能红外光束，以及各种轨道导弹。“古怪的太空玩意”这一说法直白得令人耳目一新。那么，我们是如何走到这一步的呢？

SpaceX controls orbit SpaceX 控制着轨道

There are close to 11,000 SpaceX Starlink satellites currently in orbit above our heads. Anyone who wants to launch into low-Earth orbit needs to carefully consider SpaceX operations, or directly co-ordinate with them. Otherwise they risk collisions, like the near-miss between a Starlink and Chinese satellite in December 2025. Read more: A new CRASH Clock measures the chance of satellite collisions, and it’s ticking down fast.

目前我们头顶的轨道上有近 11,000 颗 SpaceX 星链卫星。任何想要进入近地轨道的人都需要仔细考虑 SpaceX 的运营情况，或直接与他们协调。否则，他们将面临碰撞风险，例如 2025 年 12 月星链卫星与中国卫星之间发生的险些相撞事件。阅读更多：新的“碰撞时钟”正在测量卫星碰撞的概率，且倒计时正在迅速缩短。

Even the Artemis I launch in 2022 and Artemis II launch in 2026 had small “cutout” windows in their launch timing to avoid satellites, including those belonging to Starlink. Co-ordination is good. Forcing it because one corporation has effectively occupied low-Earth orbit is not. Indeed, the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which was signed by more than 100 countries including the United States, China and Russia, states that, “outer space is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation.” Whether SpaceX’s extensive use of Earth orbits violates this principle is now being tested in real time.

即使是 2022 年的“阿尔忒弥斯 1 号”和 2026 年的“阿尔忒弥斯 2 号”发射任务，也不得不在发射时间上设置微小的“避让”窗口，以避开包括星链在内的卫星。协调是好事，但因为一家公司实际上占据了近地轨道而被迫进行协调则不然。事实上，由包括美国、中国和俄罗斯在内的 100 多个国家签署的 1967 年《外层空间条约》规定：“外层空间不得通过主权要求、使用或占领等方式被国家据为己有。”SpaceX 对地球轨道的大规模使用是否违反了这一原则，目前正在实时接受考验。

Copycat megaconstellations 跟风的巨型星座

In February, SpaceX filed with the FCC for one million more satellites, for “AI data centers.” One million. That is 40 times as many satellites as have ever been launched — for a single megaconstellation consisting of completely untested technology that may not even work in space. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a payload of Starlink internet satellites lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., in 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

今年 2 月，SpaceX 向 FCC 申请再发射 100 万颗卫星，用于“AI 数据中心”。100 万颗。这相当于人类有史以来发射卫星总数的 40 倍——而这仅仅是一个由完全未经测试、甚至可能无法在太空中运行的技术所组成的巨型星座。2023 年，一枚搭载星链互联网卫星的 SpaceX 猎鹰 9 号火箭从佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角的卡纳维拉尔角太空军基地升空。（美联社照片/John Raoux）

Not only did the FCC accept SpaceX’s filing, but they did so at ludicrous speed. Scientists worldwide then had just 30 days to model the effects with woefully incomplete information on masses, sizes, compositions and orbital distributions. At the time of writing, four other copycat AI data centre proposals have been filed by rival companies, for tens of thousands of satellites each. And SpaceX just proposed another 100,000 satellites to interface with the million AI data centres that it already asked for.

FCC 不仅接受了 SpaceX 的申请，而且处理速度快得离谱。全球科学家随后仅有 30 天的时间，在缺乏质量、尺寸、成分和轨道分布等极其不完整信息的情况下，对这些影响进行建模。在撰写本文时，竞争对手公司又提交了四项跟风的 AI 数据中心提案，每项提案都涉及数万颗卫星。而 SpaceX 刚刚又提议再发射 10 万颗卫星，以连接其此前申请的 100 万个 AI 数据中心。

Solar energy from space 来自太空的太阳能

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission was originally set up to regulate radio broadcasts. But it is now being asked to evaluate many non-radio effects, including orbital safety, which it may not have the required expertise for. It would make sense to move some of this evaluation to the U.S. Office of Space Commerce. However, recent budget cuts make that infeasible. Consequently, the FCC will soon be asked to judge a daunting range of satellite proposals. They include a cluster of proposals to gather solar energy from space. One idea is to send solar power down to earth through high energy beams. These could change atmospheric chemistry and kill birds and other wildlife that stray into the beam. They would also require no-fly zones around receiving stations for airplanes and also satellites on lower altitude orbits (such as the orbits SpaceX just requested for 100,000 more Starlink satellites).

美国联邦通信委员会最初是为了监管无线电广播而设立的。但现在它被要求评估许多非无线电效应，包括轨道安全，而它可能并不具备所需的专业知识。将部分评估工作转移到美国空间商业办公室是有意义的，但近期的预算削减使得这一方案不可行。因此，FCC 即将面临评估一系列艰巨卫星提案的任务。其中包括一系列从太空收集太阳能的提案。其中一个想法是通过高能光束将太阳能传输回地球。这些光束可能会改变大气化学成分，并杀死误入光束的鸟类和其他野生动物。它们还需要在接收站周围为飞机以及低轨道卫星（例如 SpaceX 刚刚申请的 10 万颗星链卫星所在的轨道）设置禁飞区。

Environmental costs 环境成本

While many of these projects claim to solve environmental problems by creating clean energy or capturing it in space, they function as a form of greenwashing. The solar energy generated is only clean if you ignore the environmental costs of building, launching, maintaining and burning satellites up in Earth’s atmosphere. The daily operations

虽然许多项目声称通过创造清洁能源或在太空中捕获能源来解决环境问题，但它们实际上是一种“漂绿”行为。只有当你忽略了制造、发射、维护卫星以及卫星在地球大气层中燃烧所带来的环境成本时，这些产生的太阳能才算得上是清洁的。日常运营……