{{Short description|American space technology company}} {{Use American English|date=February 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox company | name = Reflect Orbital, Inc | logo = Reflect Orbital Logo.png | logo_size = | image = | type = Private | traded_as = | founded = {{start date and age|2021|01}} | founders = {{ubl| Ben Nowack | Tristan Semmelhack}} | hq_location_city = Hawthorne, California | hq_location_country = United States | key_people = | industry = Space | products = {{Unbulleted list|Eärendil space mirror}} | revenue = | revenue_year = | num_employees = 60 | num_employees_year = 2026 | website = {{URL|https://reflectorbital.com/|reflectorbital.com}} | footnotes = }}
'''Reflect Orbital, Inc''' is an American privately held space technology company headquartered in Hawthorne, California.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Kenneth |last2=Tabuchi |first2=Hiroko |title=A Night Light in the Sky? Reflect Orbital Wants to Launch a Big Space Mirror. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/climate/space-mirror-satellite-solar.html |access-date=11 March 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=9 March 2026}}</ref> Founded in 2021, the company designs and builds satellites with large-scale deployable mirrors to point sunlight onto Earth's surface.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pultarova |first1=Tereza |title=Mirrors in space could boost solar power production on Earth. Here's how. |url=https://www.space.com/orbiting-mirror-boost-solar-power-production |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=Space |date=24 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref> The stated goal is to provide responsive lighting after dark and to increase the effective hours of solar energy production.<ref>{{cite web |title=Energy |url=https://www.reflectorbital.com/energy |publisher=Reflect Orbital |access-date=10 February 2026 |language=en}}</ref> Investors in the company include venture capital firms such as Sequoia Capital and Lux Capital.
==History== Reflect Orbital was founded in October 2021 by Ben Nowack and Tristan Semmelhack in Santa Monica, California. Nowack is a former aerospace engineer from SpaceX<ref>{{cite news |last1=Campion |first1=Thobey |title=This Man Is Trying to Put Mirrors in Space to Generate Solar Power at Night |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/this-man-is-trying-to-put-mirrors-in-space-to-generate-solar-power-at-night/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=VICE |date=12 September 2022}}</ref> and Semmelhack is a former mechanical engineer at Zipline who dropped out of Stanford University in December 2022 to join Nowack as co-founder.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Desai |first1=Abhi |title=Reflect Orbital: The Stanford Dropout Taking on the Sun |url=https://stanfordreview.org/reflect-orbital/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=The Stanford Review |date=3 October 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
In March 2024, Reflect published a demonstration of a 64 sq ft (6 sq m) mirror being robotically controlled from a hot air balloon to redirect sunlight to solar panels on the ground during astronomical twilight.{{cn|date=April 2026}} By the end of 2025, the company had received more than 260,000 enquiries relating to nighttime illumination for construction projects, public events, search and rescue efforts, military operations, and disaster relief.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gorman |first1=Douglas |title=Reflect Orbital Raises $20M Series A |url=https://payloadspace.com/reflect-orbital-raises-20m-series-a/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=Payload |date=15 May 2025}}</ref> Two proof-of-concept satellite missions have been designed to reflect light at low intensity comparable to moonlight, planned for launch in 2026.{{cn|date=April 2026}} Reflect applied to the Satellite Licensing Division of the Federal Communications Commission for a license to launch and operate a constellation of satellites beginning in 2027.<ref>{{cite web |title=Public Notice: Report No. SAT-01972 |url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-418526A2.pdf |website=fcc.gov |publisher=Federal Communications Commission |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref>
==Fundraising== The company has raised money from venture capitalists and angel investors. In September 2024, Reflect raised US$6.5 million in a seed round led by Shaun Maguire and Sequoia Capital with participation from Baiju Bhatt and Zipline co-founders Keller Rinaudo and Keenan Wyrobek.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alamalhodaei |first1=Aria |title=Sequoia's first space investment since SpaceX is in sunlight-seller Reflect Orbital |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/24/sequoias-first-space-investment-since-spacex-is-sunlight-seller-reflect-orbital/?ref=stanfordreview.org |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=TechCrunch |date=24 September 2024}}</ref> In May 2025, the company announced that it raised another US$20 million from Lux Capital, Sequoia Capital, and Starship Ventures.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nusbaum |first1=David |title=Santa Monica's Reflect Orbital Raises $20 Million for Sunlight on Demand |url=https://www.latimes.com/b2b/banking-finance/story/2025-07-20/reflect-orbital-raises-20m-for-sunlight-on-demand |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=20 July 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Reflect Orbital |url=https://sequoiacap.com/companies/reflect-orbital/ |website=Sequoia Capital |access-date=10 February 2026}}</ref> In June 2025, the Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX awarded the company a US$1.25 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to develop reflector technology.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ho |first1=Jung |title=Reflect Orbital to put 4,000 giant mirrors into space. |url=https://ustechtimes.com/us-startup-plans-to-launch-giant-mirrors-into-space-to-sell-sunlight/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=US Tech Times |date=29 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Reflect Orbital Selected for SBIR Phase II Contract by AFWERX to Advance Satellite-Based Sunlight Redirection Technology |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/reflect-orbital-selected-for-sbir-phase-ii-contract-by-afwerx-to-advance-satellite-based-sunlight-redirection-technology-302471870.html |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=PR Newswire |date=June 3, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Patton |first1=Tom |title=AFWERX to Advance Satellite-Based Sunlight Redirection Technology |url=https://www.exterrajsc.com/p/afwerx-to-advance-satellite-based |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=Journal of Space Commerce |date=June 13, 2025 |language=en}}</ref> {{As of|2026}}, the company has raised a total of US$35.2 million in funding.<ref>{{cite web |title=Reflect Orbital - 2025 Company Profile & Team - Tracxn |url=https://tracxn.com/d/companies/reflect-orbital/__pCGTe7JxVCvbMut4ERjkUVSGwxIvAo0AWglDRGbKZB4#about-the-company |website=tracxn.com |publisher=Tracxn Technologies |access-date=10 February 2026 |language=en |date=22 October 2025}}</ref>
==Eärendil-1== In May 2025, the company announced that its first satellite, Eärendil-1, would act as a demonstration of deployable large-scale heliostat technology in Sun synchronous orbit. The vehicle is named after Eärendil the Mariner from Lord of the Rings, a fictional character who shines light down to the world by becoming the "evening star" Venus. The mission has the goal of illuminating ten locations around the globe after launching in mid-2026.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilkins |first1=Alex |title=Controversial satellites launching in 2026 will reflect light to Earth |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2505589-controversial-satellites-launching-in-2026-will-reflect-light-to-earth/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=New Scientist |date=December 30, 2025}}</ref>
The satellite features an 18 meter by 18 meter (59 ft) mirror weighing 16 kg (35 lbs) made from mylar plastic typically used in spacecraft multi-layer insulation. When the glossy fabric is tensioned to form a reflective surface, the mirror is expected to provide 0.1 lux of brightness on Earth's surface, which similar to moonlight during the full moon.{{cn|date=April 2026}} The reflector was designed by engineers recruited from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and uses an origami folding concept.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Alamalhodaei |first1=Aria |title=Sequoia's first space investment since SpaceX is in sunlight-seller Reflect Orbital |url=https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/24/sequoias-first-space-investment-since-spacex-is-sunlight-seller-reflect-orbital/?ref=stanfordreview.org |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=TechCrunch |date=24 September 2024}}</ref> The satellite will orbit at 600-650 km (373-404 mi) altitude and cast a 5 km (3.1 mi) diameter light spot, visible from the ground as very bright moving star.<ref>{{cite web |title=Action Alert: Provide Input to the FCC on Proposed Satellite Systems {{!}} American Astronomical Society |url=https://aas.org/action-alert-provide-input-fcc-proposed-satellite-systems |website=aas.org |publisher=American Astronautical Society |access-date=23 March 2026}}</ref>
In September 2025, Reflect selected SpaceX as a launch provider for the first two launches using Falcon 9 beginning no later than 2026.{{cn|date=April 2026}}
==Technology concerns== The company's plans have been criticised as causing light pollution and interfering with the night sky. Astronomers are concerned that a constellation of bright orbiting objects will interfere with observational astronomy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Falk |first1=Dan |title=Giant Mirrors in Space Could Bring Sunlight After Dark, One Startup Says—and Astronomers Are Concerned |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/giant-mirrors-in-space-could-bring-sunlight-after-dark-one-startup-says-and-astronomers-are-concerned-180987781/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=December 3, 2025 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Pultarova |first1=Tereza |title=This company's plan to launch 4,000 massive space mirrors has scientists alarmed |url=https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/this-companys-plan-to-launch-4-000-massive-space-mirrors-has-scientists-alarmed-from-an-astronomical-perspective-thats-pretty-catastrophic |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=Space |date=October 21, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Skibba |first1=Ramin |title=Giant Mirrors, Orbital Data Centers and Space-Based Advertisements Could Soon Clutter the Night Sky |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/alarm-grows-over-proposed-giant-mirrors-in-orbit-and-other-commercial-space/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=Scientific American |date=November 6, 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Dark sky advocates have argued that manipulating night-time illumination poses a threat to the health of humans and wildlife by affecting circadian rhythms.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Reagan |first1=Drew |title=DarkSky International opposes Reflect Orbital's proposed orbital illumination system |url=https://darksky.org/news/organizational-statement-reflect-orbital/ |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=DarkSky International |date=19 December 2025}}</ref> In response, the company said it would work closely with astronomers during its 2026 demonstration mission to minimize impacts on observations and the night sky.<ref>{{cite news |title=Reflect Orbital Seeks Collaboration with Dark Skies |url=https://www.reflectorbital.com/blog-posts/reflect-orbital-seeks-collaboration-with-dark-skies |access-date=10 February 2026 |work=Reflect Orbital |date=January 20, 2026 |language=en}}</ref>
== See also == {{Portal|Spaceflight}} * Space mirror * Znamya (satellite)
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
Category:2021 establishments in California Category:American companies established in 2021 Category:Aerospace companies Category:Privately held companies based in California Category:Technology companies Category:Information technology companies of the United States