SpaceX Has Wildly Screwed Up Its Military Satellites, Researcher Finds

"Scott Tilley, a satellite researcher based out of British Colombia, uncovered evidence that some 171 SpaceX-built Starshield satellites have been broadcasting signals in the wrong direction, according to Ars Technica. The satellites were operated as part of the US government's National Reconnaissance Office surveillance program, which is meant to expand the country's ability to spy over other nations. According to Ars, Tilley discovered the SpaceX satellites were using a frequency which is internationally designated for Earth-to-space and space-to-space transmissions."

""This particular band is allocated by the ITU [International Telecommunication Union], the United States, and Canada primarily as an uplink band to spacecraft on orbit - in other words, things in space, so satellite receivers will be listening on these frequencies," he told Ars. "If you've got a loud constellation of signals blasting away on the same frequencies, it has the potential to interfere with the reception of ground station signals being directed at satellites on orbit.""

Satellite researcher Scott Tilley uncovered evidence that 171 SpaceX-built Starshield satellites broadcast signals in the wrong direction. The satellites operated for the US National Reconnaissance Office and used frequencies internationally designated for Earth-to-space and space-to-space transmissions in the 2025–2110 MHz band. Errant signals were detected over the United States, Canada, Mexico, and likely other nations. The 2025–2110 MHz band is primarily an uplink band listened to by satellite receivers, so loud constellation transmissions can interfere with ground-station uplinks. Such interference can disrupt ground transmissions, telecommunications services, and orbital agency broadcasts like those from NASA. No overt disruptions were officially reported.

Read at Futurism