Eärendil-1 Orbital Mirror Satellite: FCC Licence Explained
Why in the news
America’s communications regulator allowed a California startup to fly a demonstration satellite that works as an orbiting mirror.
Key facts
- Operator: Reflect Orbital, a commercial aerospace startup focused on space-based energy and orbital reflection.
- Design: thin-film mirror that unfolds by itself in orbit; motorised gimbals aim it.
- Name: taken from a mariner in Tolkien’s The Silmarillion.
About the FCC
US regulator for radio, satellite, TV, wire and internet communication, set up in 1934; it licenses satellite links and commercial space radio.
Exam angle
- Know the licence term (two years) and orbit (LEO, about 625 km).