Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace has signed a two-launch contract with US space technology startup Reflect Orbital to deploy satellites designed to reflect sunlight towards selected areas on Earth after sunset, potentially extending daylight for emergency operations and solar power generation.
The proposed system would use orbital mirrors to capture sunlight in space and redirect it to specific locations on the ground. Reflect Orbital envisions adjustable illumination over an area of about five kilometres, according to a report by Telangana Today.
The partnership places Skyroot’s launch vehicles at the centre of an experimental effort to use space infrastructure for applications normally associated with terrestrial lighting. Rather than producing light through conventional power sources, the system would attempt to deliver reflected sunlight from orbit during nighttime hours.
The first launch is expected to use Skyroot’s Vikram-1 rocket, while the second is planned aboard the Vikram-1U launch vehicle, which is under development. The report did not provide a launch date for either mission.
Reflect Orbital received approval from the US Federal Communications Commission in July to construct, launch and operate a demonstration satellite. The approval provides the regulatory basis for the company’s proposed demonstration, while the contract with Skyroot is expected to support the deployment of the orbital mirrors.
The companies have identified search and rescue operations in disaster-hit areas as one potential use. Reflected sunlight could, in principle, provide additional illumination to selected locations after dark, when conventional lighting infrastructure may be damaged or unavailable. The technology has also been presented as a way to extend the hours of sunlight available to solar farms, although the supplied report does not establish how much additional energy such a system could generate.
The proposal also brings space operations into questions normally associated with urban lighting and public infrastructure. Any deployment would involve deciding where reflected light could be directed, how long it would remain over an area and how its effects would be managed for residents, wildlife and astronomical observation. Telangana Today noted that the concept raises concerns about the night sky, astronomy, wildlife and people living beneath illuminated areas.
For Skyroot, the agreement adds an unusual commercial application to its launch ambitions from Hyderabad. The company’s Vikram-1 rocket is expected to carry the first mission, while the proposed use of Vikram-1U would depend on the development of that launch vehicle. The report does not provide further technical details about the mirrors, satellite configuration or operating schedule.
The orbital-lighting concept remains an emerging technology rather than an established substitute for conventional lighting. Its next defined milestones are the demonstration satellite’s construction, launch and operation under the approval granted by the US regulator, followed by the planned deployment missions using Skyroot launch vehicles.
