Having Starlink finally appear on the South African landscape could significantly change how some parts of the country function. BEE laws might alter (a bit), foreign investment policies could be modified, and folks might wind up having infrastructure-free internet access in remote locations. There’s one other segment that could have new issues to cope with: astronomy.
South Africa’s astronomy program is a sophisticated one, particularly in the field of radio astronomy. The country is a major contributor to an intercontinental program called the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). Comprising two facilities, one in South Africa and the other in Australia, the ongoing project was sited where it is because of its lack of radio interference.
What now, Starlink?
If you guessed that having extra Starlink satellites buzzing overhead might cause issues with the astronomy program, you’re probably irritating to watch murder mysteries with. You are also correct, as it happens. Astronomers have expressed concern that Elon Musk’s internet satellites will cause hassles for scientific observation.
“It will be like shining a spotlight into someone’s eyes, blinding us to the faint radio signals from celestial bodies,” said Federico Di Vruno of the International Astronomical Union Centre for the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky.
It’s hardly a new concern. Starlink’s orbiting units have caused trouble for radio astronomers for some time, overpowering the faint stellar (and interstellar?) signals being probed by equipment on the ground. It has landed close to home on this occasion.
Remedies are being sought for Starlink’s presence, which is also being treated as a foregone conclusion. The SKA Observatory and the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) are hoping to have license requirements put in place that will preserve the program.
Unfortunately, the main SKA location in Carnavon in the Northern Cape uses a similar spectrum range to satellite downlinks. Either satellite beams would have to be redirected around the site, shut off briefly when flying into affected airspace, or someone has to give up their bandwidth. That last one’s not likely to happen. Starlink probably won’t go for it, and SARAO definitely isn’t going to convince Deep Space to change its transmitted radio frequencies.
