A Canadian hobbyist has uncovered unusual radio transmissions from SpaceX’s secretive Starshield satellite network, potentially breaching international frequency regulations.
As reported by NPR on October 17, 2025, the signals—detected in a band reserved for ground-to-space commands—are raising alarms about unintended interference with other orbital assets.
The saga began in March 2025, when a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, deploying a batch of Starshield satellites under the auspices of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
These small, proliferated satellites form part of a U.S. military “proliferated architecture,” with over 200 launched since May 2024 across 11 missions.
Designed for rapid Earth observation and resilient communications, the network aims to deliver data “in minutes or even seconds,” according to the NRO. The U.S. government has invested more than $1.8 billion in Starshield, a militarized cousin of SpaceX’s consumer Starlink internet constellation.
Scott Tilley, an amateur satellite tracker based in British Columbia, stumbled upon the anomaly by accident. While recalibrating his radio equipment, he scanned the 2025-2110 MHz frequency band—typically silent from space, as it’s allocated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for uplink commands from Earth to satellites.
“It was just a clumsy move at the keyboard. I was resetting some stuff and then all of a sudden I’m looking at the wrong antenna, the wrong band,” Tilley recounted to NPR.
What he found instead was a persistent downlink signal emanating from orbit. “It was in a part of the band ‘that should have nothing there.’ I got a hold of my mouse and hit the record button and let it record for a few minutes.”
Cross-referencing his recordings with global databases, Tilley pinpointed the source: Starshield satellites. He’s since tracked signals from 170 of them, noting their frequencies shift frequently—a tactic he suspects is meant to evade detection.
“Bang, up came an unusual identification that I wasn’t expecting at all. Starshield,” he said. The transmissions operate at low data rates akin to 3G cellular service, far below Starlink’s broadband speeds, suggesting they’re optimized for stealth over volume.
Tilley went public with his findings to safeguard other space users: “These are objects in classified orbits, which could potentially disturb other legitimate uses of space.”
Experts warn of real risks. The signals could swamp nearby satellites, garbling Earth-based commands. “Nearby satellites could receive radio-frequency interference and could perhaps not respond properly to commands — or ignore commands — from Earth,” Tilley cautioned.
Kevin Gifford, a computer science professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, who studies spacecraft radio interference, agrees the issue is underway. “I think it is definitely happening,” Gifford told NPR, though he added that “the issue of whether the interference is truly disruptive remains unresolved.”
He speculated on SpaceX’s bold approach: “SpaceX is smart and savvy. It’s possible they decided to just ‘do it and ask forgiveness later.'” So far, no major complaints have surfaced from other operators, hinting at minimal fallout to date.
No comments:
Post a Comment