In a report titled ‘The Growing Impact of Unintended Starlink Broadband Emission on Radio Astronomy in the SKA-Low Frequency Range’, the researchers found that unintended signals from satellites – leaked from onboard electronics – can drown out the faint radio waves astronomers use to study the universe.

The report was published in Astronomy and Astrophysics..

SpaceX owned Starlink has by far the biggest low earth orbit (LEO) constellation of satellites, with currently nearly 8,000 in orbit and it has an FCC license to build the number to nearly 12,000.

Researchers at the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA), produced the study when the constellation had more than 7000 satellites in operation.

Starlink has proven to provide a valuable internet service for residents of rural and remote areas which have limited access to land-based communications networks.

PhD candidate and Curtin University study lead Dylan Grigg said the team detected more than 112,000 radio emissions from 1806 Starlink satellites, making it the most comprehensive catalogue of satellite radio emissions at low frequencies to date.

“Starlink is the most immediate and frequent source of potential interference for radio astronomy: it launched 477 satellites during this study’s four-month data collection period alone,” Grigg said.

“In some datasets, we found up to 30% of our images showed interference from a Starlink satellite.”

Grigg said the issue wasn’t just the number of satellites, but the strength of the signals and the frequencies they were visible at.

“Some satellites were detected emitting in bands where no signals are supposed to be present at all, such as the 703 satellites we identified at 150.8 MHz, which is meant to be protected for radio astronomy,” Mr Grigg said.

“Because they may come from components like onboard electronics and they’re not part of an intentional signal, astronomers can’t easily predict them or filter them out.”

Study co-author Professor Steven Tingay said there was scope for regulatory improvement to help avoid satellites interfering with research.

“Current International Telecommunication Union regulations focus on intentional transmissions and do not cover this type of unintended emission,” Professor Tingay said.

“Starlink isn’t the only satellite network, but it is by far the biggest and its emissions are now increasingly prominent in our data.

“We hope this study adds support for international efforts to update policies that regulate the impact of this technology on radio astronomy research, that are currently underway.

“It is important to note that Starlink is not violating current regulations, so is doing nothing wrong.

"Discussions we have had with SpaceX on the topic have been constructive.”

Professor Tingay said satellite technology and radio astronomy were both important but needed to exist in harmony.

“We’re standing on the edge of a golden era where the SKA will help answer the biggest questions in science: how the first stars formed, what dark matter is and even test Einstein’s theories,” Professor Tingay said.

“But it needs radio silence to succeed.

"We recognise the deep benefits of global connectivity but we need balance and that starts with an understanding of the problem, which is the goal of our work.”

Quelle: ITWire