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The Federal Communications Commission has given the green light to Reflect Orbital, a California startup with an ambitious idea — put giant mirrors in space. Their first satellite, Eärendil-One, carries four eighteen-meter reflectors designed to bounce sunlight down to construction sites and search-and-rescue operations. Test launches are expected before the year is out.
Meanwhile, back on the ground, the backlash against AI data centers is intensifying. Communities across the country are pushing back against the massive power and water demands these facilities bring with them. Yard signs, local hearings, zoning battles — the infrastructure quietly powering the AI boom is now very much a public conversation, and it is only getting louder.
And in a quieter corner of the energy story, thirty American states are moving to legalize plug-in solar panels — small, affordable units that connect directly to a standard wall outlet. Home battery installations just hit a record high as well. The do-it-yourself energy movement, long established across Europe as balcony solar, appears to be finding its American moment.
Those are your headlines for today. Keep surfing. Tech Beat out.
