Toward Spectrum Coexistence: First Demonstration of the Effectiveness of Boresight Avoidance between the NRAO Green Bank Telescope and Starlink Satellites

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that coordinated boresight avoidance strategies between Starlink satellites and the Green Bank Telescope effectively reduce interference, showcasing a successful collaboration to protect radio astronomy observations.

Contribution

First experimental validation of boresight avoidance techniques to mitigate satellite interference with radio telescopes.

Findings

Avoidance methods significantly reduce satellite interference.

Experiments confirm feasibility of cooperation between NRAO and SpaceX.

Results support expanding collaborative interference mitigation efforts.

Abstract

NRAO and SpaceX have been engaged in coordinated testing efforts since Fall 2021, including conducting experiments on different interference avoidance schemes for the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico, and the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) inside the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) in West Virginia. The Starlink system is capable of avoiding direct illumination of telescope sites with their adaptive tasking to place downlink beams far away. Nevertheless, even satellites operating in this mode can potentially present strong signals into the telescope's receiver system if they pass close to the telescope's main beam at the boresight. For additional protection, Starlink satellites can either momentarily redirect or completely disable their downlink channels while they pass within some minimum angular separation threshold from the telescope's boresight, methods that are referred to as "telescope boresight avoidance". In two separate experiments conducted since Fall 2023, NRAO and SpaceX arranged to have the GBT observe a fixed RA/Dec position in the sky, chosen to have a large number of close-to-boresight Starlink passages. Preliminary analysis from these two experiments illustrate the feasibility of these avoidance methods to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, the negative impact of close-to-boresight satellite passages. Importantly, these experiments demonstrate the value of continuing cooperative efforts between NRAO and SpaceX, and expanding cooperation between the radio astronomy and satellite communities more generally.