Re: OT: Surely there's an SF story with this.....

On Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:07:01 -0400, Cryptoengineer wrote:

Reflect Orbital
 
https://www.reflectorbital.com/lighting
 
is proposing to launch a fleet of orbital mirrors to provide lighting to
nighttime locations on the Earth.
 
They claim they will be able to light up a 5km diameter circle for 4
minutes. They're accepting reservations, but I can't find any pricing.
They expect to start in Q4 2025.
 
I'm *extremely* skeptical. To be even as bright as moonlight,
the mirror would have to appear 1/7 the area of the Moon in the sky.
 
I can't think of a use case for 4 minutes of light, but they also talk
about using it to power up solar panel systems at night, which makes no
sense.
 
I think its either an art project, or some kind of scam to fleece
investors who are bad at math.
 
Still, very stfnal.

In any case, in the default imagery I recognized Marina Del Ray,
to I spent a few minutes moving the spotlight up the coast to
Santa Monica and zooming in on the apartment building where I
lived 1969-70.