Scientists have confirmed that SpaceX's satellites are emitting unexpected radio waves.

Wavelength bands that are meant to be conserved for radio astronomy are now being polluted by constellations of satellites populating Earth's orbital heavens.

New study suggests that the Starlink satellites from SpaceX are "leaking" low-frequency radio signals that are not part of their designated downlink bands. This might have an effect on astronomical observations.

According to engineer Federico Di Vruno of the SKA Observatory and the International Astronomical Union, "This study represents the latest effort to better understand the impact of satellite constellations on radio astronomy."

Our data support the theory put forward in earlier Dark and Quiet Skies seminars that this radiation is detectable.
The impact satellites have on our understanding of space is a growing problem as Earth's sky fill up. There are already 4,365 or so of SpaceX's tiny internet satellites orbiting the Earth, and thousands more are planned. They are not the only business, either. Over 600 are on OneWeb. Starting in 2024, Amazon intends to offer thousands more products.

When designing a new, dimmer satellite, SpaceX did pay attention to concerns about visual light pollution. But astronomy conducted on Earth uses more than just visible wavelengths. Radio astronomy is the other, perhaps larger discipline, and this is where there may be a problem.

At least in Europe, the satellites employ radio frequencies between 10.7 and 12.7 gigahertz for communication downlink; this has already raised concerns among experts.


However, experts hypothesized that the satellites may be emitting unwanted radio signals outside of that area. Di Vruno and his associates wanted to look into this.


In Europe, they made use of the LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), a network made up of some 20,000 radio antennas dispersed across 52 sites. With this level of sensitivity, they observed 68 satellites belonging to the Starlink constellation. Sure enough, they detected electromagnetic leakage.