Scientists want astronomy-linked conditions on Starlink's SA licence deal
Di Vruno said the SKA Observatory, where he is spectrum manager, and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (Sarao) were lobbying for licence requirements to reduce the impact on observations in certain frequency ranges, including some that SKA-Mid uses. This could direct Starlink to steer satellite beams away from SKA receivers or stop transmission for a few seconds to minimise interference, he said.
South Africa's SKA antennae, in the remote Northern Cape town of Carnarvon, uses the 350 megahertz to 15.4 gigahertz bandwidth, a range also used by most satellite operators for downlinks.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa regulator and Starlink did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the scientists' concerns.
South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope, a precursor to SKA-Mid which will be incorporated into the larger instrument, has already discovered a rare giant radio galaxy that is 32 times the size of the Milky Way. Last year it found 49 new galaxies in under three hours, according to Sarao.
SKA Observatory, an international body, also campaigns for conditions on licensing agreements with other major satellite operators such as Amazon and Eutelsat's OneWeb to ensure quiet skies amid a boom in new satellite launches.
'We are trying to follow different technical and regulatory avenues to mitigate this issue on the global stage,' Di Vruno said.
Reuters
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