Radio astronomers and satellite internet provider develop new sky-sharing system
New techniques developed by the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) and SpaceX enable radio astronomy telescopes to operate without interference from satellite transmissions. The techniques allow communities near radio telescopes to access high-speed internet without negatively impacting the telescopes' observations of distant astronomical objects.
"Although invisible, the electromagnetic spectrum is one of our most precious public resources for both science and industry," says Ashley VanderLey, senior advisor for facilities in the NSF Astronomical Sciences Division. "The innovative methods developed jointly by NSF NRAO and SpaceX provide a clear path that others can follow to increase rural access to high-speed internet while protecting the scientific and economic benefits produced by nearby radio astronomy facilities."
NSF NRAO manages some of the most sensitive radio telescopes in the world, such as the NSF Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia and the NSF Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico. Such telescopes are generally located in remote locations to protect their observations from radio interference generated by human-made technology, including satellites. When satellite transmissions pass over radio telescopes, they can drown out the comparatively faint signals from space.
Building on a 2019 coordination agreement and an extensive technical collaboration, the new techniques use real-time automatic data sharing between telescopes and SpaceX's Starlink satellites, such as the direction telescopes are pointing and frequencies they are observing. With this information, Starlink satellites passing overhead dynamically redirect their transmission beams away from the telescopes while maintaining internet service for customers in nearby areas.
The first scientific paper describing the techniques has been accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.