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SpaceX's Starlink Satellites Are Leaking More Radio Waves Than Ever (www.sciencealert.com)

submitted 1 day ago by just_another_person@lemmy.world to c/science@lemmy.world

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[-] JaumeI@programming.dev 29 points 1 day ago

First paragraph...

Satellite swarms orbiting the Earth are leaking more radiation into protected wavelength bands than ever.

[-] linearchaos@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

Well it certainly sounds like they can do a better job It only using the intended frequencies. I wonder if they're cheaping out on hardware doesn't seem like their MO.

[-] piecat@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago

Proper EMC requires good design, additional components, and good shielding.

Components and shielding add cost directly, but also increase weight, which is probably millions times more expensive in fuel.

I bet they cheaped out on their shielding. Especially given the volume of sats they're trying to use.

[-] linearchaos@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Last I heard it was something like $3K a kilogram to get a ride on falcon. Compared to their cost overall for each unit it's pennies.

We used to shield the hell out of everything, but we've gotten away from that in recent decades. We're getting particularly good at generating only the frequencies we need.

I'm thinking that they made a last minute business decision to push the amplifiers too hard, or maybe they decided not to update the tech and just push it harder.

There's no way they didn't run basic testing on the hardware to make sure that it was putting out appropriate frequencies.

[-] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 day ago

Someone had to have signed off on a mission assurance spec waiver if they're leaking a lot of EMI. If they didn't check with the FCC on this they might be in big trouble. Who am I kidding? This was probably done with their blessing.