Orbital Mirror Startup Faces Scientific Alarm Over Night Sky Disruption

Reflect Orbital, a Hawthorne startup, aims to deploy 50,000 orbital mirrors by 2035 to beam sunlight to Earth's night side. The company has raised USD 28 million and filed Federal Communications Commission paperwork for its initial prototype.

Credit: Reflect Orbital

Scientists, however, are raising concerns about the potential consequences when technological ambition meets orbital physics and environmental impact.

The company's prototype, EARENDEL-1, is a dorm-fridge-sized device that unfolds into an 18.3-metre mirror. It illuminates a 4.8-kilometre patch with light comparable to a full moon.

Production mirrors, measuring 54.9 metres, are designed to deliver 1/140,000th of midday sunlight across 46.6 square kilometres. Research from Monash University indicates that over 3,000 satellites would be needed to achieve 20% of daytime solar intensity at a single location.

This scale raises questions about the energy returns versus the significant infrastructure investment. Reflect Orbital's pricing is USD 5,000 per hour for its service.

Historical precedents include Russia’s 1993 Znamya-2 experiment, which briefly illuminated Arctic regions using a 24.4-metre mirror. The physics limitations observed in that mission, such as light scattering beyond target areas, persist.

Astronomers warn of the permanent pollution of the night sky with artificial illumination brighter than moonlight. Robert Massey, of the Royal Astronomical Society, described this prospect as "pretty catastrophic" for astronomy.

Fifty thousand mirrors could create streaks across telescope images, potentially ending ground-based astronomy. Wildlife faces disrupted circadian rhythms, affecting migration, breeding, and hibernation cycles.

Pilots also face distraction risks from sudden bright flashes. A regulatory gap exacerbates these concerns, as the Federal Communications Commission reviews radio interference and satellite disposal but not environmental impacts.

No federal agency currently assesses how orbital mirrors might affect ecosystems or night sky preservation. Despite attracting 250,000 service applications and Air Force contracts, Reflect Orbital faces fundamental physics constraints.

Experts suggest that battery storage and grid-scale solutions extend solar power more efficiently than orbital infrastructure requiring constant satellite replacement. While the mirrors might find niche applications in disaster response or Arctic operations, transforming global energy is deemed unfeasible by many scientists.

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• Reflect Orbital plans to deploy 50,000 orbital mirrors by 2035 to illuminate Earth's night side.

• The company has secured USD 28 million in funding and is developing a prototype mirror system.

• Scientists express alarm over the potential for light pollution, the disruption of ground-based astronomy, and ecological impacts on wildlife.

Source: YAHOO

Microsoft Integrates Anthropic AI into Copilot for Enterprise Agents

Microsoft is integrating artificial intelligence technology from Anthropic into its Copilot service to meet demand for autonomous agents. The company on Monday unveiled Copilot Cowork, a tool based on Anthropic’s viral Claude Cowork offering, which has captivated Silicon Valley with its ability to handle complex tasks.

Credit: MICROSOFT

Claude Cowork handles complex tasks, including creating applications, building spreadsheets, and organising large volumes of data with limited human oversight. Microsoft aims to attract businesses interested in AI agents by leveraging its established relationships with enterprise customers and its focus on security and data controls.

Jared Spataro, who leads Microsoft’s AI-at-Work efforts, told Reuters that Copilot Cowork operates exclusively in a cloud environment and on behalf of the user. Spataro explained users know exactly what information Copilot Cowork accesses, contrasting it with Claude Cowork’s local device operation which he noted makes most companies ‘very uncomfortable’.

The launch follows weeks after Anthropic introduced new tools for Claude that heightened investor concerns about the potential threat of AI agents to traditional software companies. This concern triggered a selloff in the sector, leading to a nearly 9% drop in Microsoft’s shares in February.

The Copilot Cowork tool is currently in testing and will be available to early-access users later this month. Microsoft did not disclose specific pricing for Copilot Cowork, but indicated some usage would be included in its USD 30-per-user, per-month M365 Copilot offering for enterprises.

Additional usage will be available for purchase. Microsoft is also making Anthropic’s latest Claude Sonnet models available to M365 Copilot users. Previously, the M365 Copilot service relied only on OpenAI’s GPT models.

This move deepens Microsoft’s ties with Anthropic. Investors have questioned Microsoft’s dependence on OpenAI, which accounts for nearly 45% of Microsoft’s cloud business contract backlog.

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• Microsoft is integrating Anthropic's AI technology into its Copilot service.

• The new offering, Copilot Cowork, is based on Anthropic’s Claude Cowork.

• Based on Anthropic’s Claude Cowork, Copilot Cowork is poised to assist with complex tasks like application creation and data organisation with limited human oversight.

Source: REUTERS

Nexperia China Starts Chip Production Amid Independence Dispute

Nexperia China has commenced producing its own chips, marking a significant step towards independence from its Dutch parent. The Chinese subsidiary is utilising 12-inch wafers, a size that Nexperia’s European facilities cannot manufacture.

Credit: NEXPERIA

An ongoing standoff between Nexperia, its owner Wingtech, and the Nexperia China subsidiary underpins this development. The dispute commenced in Oct. 2025 following a Dutch government intervention.

The intervention aimed to prevent the company from transferring operations to China. Prior to this, Nexperia produced wafers in Europe and then packaged them into chips in China.

After the intervention, the company fractured. Nexperia China declared independence, and Nexperia Europe subsequently halted wafer shipments to China, citing nonpayment.

Nexperia China stated it has begun manufacturing several chip types, including bipolar discrete devices, Schottky rectifiers, and electrostatic discharge devices. These are simple chips also produced by Nexperia.

The company did not immediately clarify the source of its 12-inch wafers. Wingtech founder Zhang Xuezheng controls Shanghai Dingtai Jiangxin Technology Co., Ltd., also known as WingSkySemi.

WingSkySemi is a 12-inch wafer fabrication plant in Shanghai. This facility had previously cooperated with Nexperia before the dispute initiated.

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• Nexperia China began manufacturing its own chips.

• The Chinese subsidiary is using 12-inch wafers, which its Dutch parent cannot produce in Europe.

• This move signals further independence amid a dispute that started in Oct. 2025.

Source: REUTERS