Former SpaceX employee wants to send giant mirrors into orbit to illuminate solar panels at night

(ORDO NEWS) — Ben Novak, a 26-year-old inventor and former SpaceX employee , plans to send satellites into orbit with massive mirrors installed on them to help “extract” solar energy on Earth even at night.

“Everyone is installing so many solar panels everywhere, ” Novak said . “But the sun’s light sometimes goes out, and that’s called night. If we solve this fundamental problem, we can use solar energy everywhere.”

Space solar reflector

Novak founded a company, aptly named Tons of Mirrors, which is working to build and launch reflector satellites into orbit.

“Having reflectors in space means that you can [round the clock] shine sunlight on already existing solar farms,” Novak explained in an interview with Vice.

I have developed several technologies that no one is definitely working on. This made the model more economical.”

His concept of a reflector in orbit is based on technology used by NASA‘s James Webb Space Telescope , but the concentrated beam of light is directed “in the other direction.”

And instead of relying on one massive and unwieldy mirror, Nowak proposes building a parabolic reflector made up of millions of smaller mirrors.

Economic benefit

The young entrepreneur is currently trying to raise five million dollars by October to test one of the company’s reflectors outside the International Space Station.

This is a difficult to implement, but a very convincing concept, at least in theory. However, the creation of something economical, as Elon Musk, the former head of Ben Novak, proved by his example, can sometimes cost astronomical sums.

“To make it cheaper than others offer, that’s the problem,” Novak summed up.

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