Lessons learned from ongoing coordination between NRAO/GBO and LEO NGSO satellite constellations

Abstract

With the increased demand for spectrum usage in recent years, particularly with the expansion of NGSO satellite systems for broadband internet and cellular services, radio astronomy observatories located at remote sites have been faced with the challenge of increasingly detrimental RFI exposure from ubiquitous satellite downlinks. With the help of the U.S. NSF, NRAO and the radio astronomy community have spearheaded collaboration efforts with the commercial NGSO operators to develop different coordination techniques to alleviate the impacts of these downlink signals in radio astronomy scientific observations. This paper summarizes the ongoing coordination efforts, spectrum interference avoidance schemes, and a case study on community participation of the Operational Data Sharing (ODS) system between RAS and NGSO operators. We highlight some of the essential lessons learned from these collaborations and potential application of the ODS system to other potential spectrum stakeholders.