Starlink Signal Leakage Threatens Radio Astronomy's Most Critical Frequencies

A Curtin University study found that unintended signal leakage from Starlink satellites is contaminating radio astronomy frequencies, with emissions up to 10,000 times stronger than the faint cosmic signals the Square Kilometre Array Low telescope needs to detect. Researchers identified over 112,000 emissions from nearly 1,800 Starlink satellites across protected radio astronomy bands, with some frequencies experiencing up to 30% interference, yet current ITU regulations lack protections against this unintended hardware leakage. The findings threaten astronomers' ability to observe neutral hydrogen signals from the cosmic dawn approximately 13 billion years ago.