Newest Starlink satellites are leaking even more radiation than their predecessors — and could soon disrupt astronomy

The latest generation of SpaceX's Starlink satellites are leaking even more potentially disruptive radiation into low-Earth orbit than their predecessors, a new study shows. Researchers warn that the continuing unchecked deployment of the spacecraft could lead to an irreversible "iNFLection point," beyond which we can no longer properly study the universe's most exciting objects.

In July 2023, researchers discovered that SpaceX's Generation 1 Starlink satellites, first launched in 2019, are leaking unintended electromagnetic radiation (UEMR) into space. This radiation, which mainly consists of radio waves, is inadvertently given off by the satellites in multiple directions as they transmit radio signals to Earth. Unfortunately, these radio wave frequencies are very similar to those emitted by distant objects from across the cosmos, such as stars, exoplanets, black holes and pulsars, meaning that leakage from the satellites can obscure radio astronomers' readings.

Over the last year and a half, SpaceX has been phasing out these satellites in favor of newer Generation 2 models , which were first launched in February 2023. These spacecraft are smaller,more powerful, maneuverable and robust than their predecessors, according to Live Science's sister site Space.com. However, until now, it was unclear if they also leaked UEMR.

In the new study, published Sept. 18 in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, researchers used the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescope — a giant network of radio dishes spread across eight European countries — to track Gen 2 satellites. The astronomers found that the new spacecraft are even leakier than their Gen1 counterparts. The worst offenders are the "V2 mini" satellites, the current most common type of Gen 2 satellite, which can emit up to 32 times more UEMR than Gen 1 predecessors.

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The UEMR from these new satellites and all those that will follow them into orbit over the next few decades could end up "blinding radio telescopes and crippling vital research of the universe," researchers wrote in a statement.

The UEMR emitted by the Den 2 satellites is up to 10 million times brighter than the faintest radio-visible objects in the night sky. "This difference is similar to the faintest stars visible to the naked eye and the brightness of the Full Moon," study lead author Cees Bassa, an astronomer at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON), said in the statement.