Starlink Is Coming to ‘Radio Quiet Zones’ in the US

SpaceX is rolling out Starlink access in the remaining corners of the US that have yet to receive it.

On Friday, SpaceX announced it had developed a way to bring Starlink to so-called “radio quiet zones” in New Mexico and West Virginia that house two radio astronomy observatories.

Radio quiet zones feature prominently on Starlink’s official availability map as a pair of dark blue areas without access to the company’s high-speed satellite internet system. SpaceX wants to avoid creating radio interference with the local observatories, which use powerful radio telescopes to make observations from space. 

(Credit: Starlink.com)

But now SpaceX says it’s found a way to deliver Starlink connectivity to residents living in these zones without disturbing the scientific research. The company partnered with the US National Science Foundation and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), which runs the two observatories in New Mexico and West Virginia. 

“This is a great collaboration between the NRAO and SpaceX demonstrating coexistence between advanced satellite communications systems and sensitive scientific instruments using shared spectrum,” Starlink VP of Engineering Michael Nicolls tweeted. 

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The main concern has been Starlink beaming radio signals toward the “eye” of the radio astronomy observatories, which could both interfere and even damage the equipment. To prevent this, SpaceX developed a system to quickly steer the satellite beams away from the radio telescopes as the company’s orbiting satellites approach. 

“These techniques are made possible by a real-time data sharing framework between radio astronomy observatories and Starlink that provides the Starlink network with a telescope’s planned observation schedule, including the telescope’s pointing direction (aka ‘boresight’) and its observed frequency band,” the company added. 

According to SpaceX, the system is already live and operational for the radio quiet zone in Socorro, New Mexico, where the NRAO’s Very Large Array telescope is based. As a result, it looks like local residents, including the Alamo Navajo Indian Tribe, now have the option to order Starlink for their area. 

The NRAO adds that Starlink connectivity is also coming to Green Bank, West Virginia, which is home to another major radio telescope. The company plans to offer Starlink access for fixed use and roaming.

“While we are still testing the system, this is a major achievement, and a clear example of the benefits of regular communication and experimentation involving active and passive users of the radio spectrum,” said NRAO spectrum manager ​​Chris De Pree in the announcement. 

Green Bank Observatory (Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The announcement arrives amid concern from astronomers about Starlink satellites interfering with their scientific research. In response, SpaceX has been developing a variety of ways to prevent the satellites from generating both visual and radio interference with local observatories. 

“SpaceX intends to continue its work with the radio astronomy community to expand the implementation of the telescope boresight avoidance method to other observatories in the USA and beyond,” the company added. “SpaceX maintains an open invitation to other radio astronomy organizations from around the world to implement the approach to protect their important scientific research.”