Serial launches of SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rockets have reduced the cost of putting cargo into orbit to $1500 per 1kg. When the larger Starship rocket starts flying, the price will drop by another third, and when these rockets can be used on a permanent basis, the price will drop to $232 per 1kg. This is the threshold that makes various bold experiments in space cost-effective and the launches themselves affordable to small private entities.
The Solspace project from scientists at the University of Glasgow is focused on this price factor. They intend to build a full-fledged orbital constellation of sunlight reflectors to transmit it to Earth. Here this light will receive typical fields of solar panels and produce additional energy from it. The system will not affect light pollution in any way, the brightness of the reflected light does not exceed the background lighting on a cloudy day.
