Detecting VHF Satellite Emissions Using the Orville Wideband Imager

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations are experiencing rapid growth, a trend which is likely to continue with the on-going expansion of the Starlink, OneWeb, and Kuiper constellations. The telecommunications satellites in these constellations produce both intentional in-band Radio Frequency (RF) emissions as well as unintended out-of-band emissions. These emissions can be detected from radio astronomy telescopes and are a possible source of interference, particularly when the emissions occur at frequencies outside of a licensed satellite communications band. Out-of-band RF emissions from the Starlink constellation have been observed at radio astronomy telescopes such as the LOFAR array in the Netherlands (Vruno, et al. 2023) and the SKA-Low prototype station in Australia (Grigg, 2023.)