SWIFT-SAT: Observational Data Sharing

射电天文观测站从最早的时候就开始研究无线电频率干扰的影响。由于认识到强大的广播和敏感的科学仪器不可能轻易共存，因此为射电天文学创造了受保护的频率，并设立了国家无线电静默区。随着时间的推移，这些保护措施已经扩大。尽管如此，无线通信向更高频率的扩展，以及覆盖全球的低地球轨道卫星网络的出现，导致了更多频率和偏远地点的射频干扰。天文学界需要能够实现这些通信能力的解决方案，同时保护地面射电望远镜的生存能力。在以前由国家科学基金会资助的设计和规划工作的基础上，该项目将建立一个业务数据共享系统，支持射电天文观测站和卫星星座之间的自动化、实时频谱共享。该项目将在新墨西哥州的Jansky Very Large阵列、西弗吉尼亚州的Green Bank望远镜和空间探索技术公司(SpaceX)运营的Starlink星座之间部署ods并进行频谱共享试验。来自不同背景的学生将以暑期实习生的身份参加这项工作，通过将来自ods系统的实时更新纳入现有的面向公众的望远镜状态显示，将提高公众对频谱问题的认识。计划中的ods系统向卫星运营者传送有关射电天文观测站状况和计划的信息，包括天线指向方向或相控阵波束方向、接收器中心频率和随时间变化的带宽。Ods的结构是由卫星运营商查询的数据库，因此只传输该运营商需要的信息。天文台和运营商就共享方法达成一致。例如，将相控阵波束指向天文台附近的指定区域的卫星，只有在天文台在该频段进行积极探测时，才会在运营商许可的频率的子集上进行发射。该项目探索了当天文台在其他频率上进行探测时，使操作员能够使用比当前静态保护方法所提供的更多频谱的方法。最初的部署和实验集中在10.7-12.7 GHz频段。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Radio astronomy observatories have dealt with the impacts of radio frequency interference (RFI) since their earliest days. The realization that powerful broadcasts and sensitive scientific instruments could not easily coexist led to the creation of protected frequencies for radio astronomy and to the establishment of the National Radio Quiet Zone. These protections have been expanded over time. Nevertheless, the expansion of wireless communications to ever higher frequencies, and the advent of globe-spanning low earth orbit networks of satellites, have resulted in RFI at many more frequencies and in remote locations. The astronomy community needs solutions that enable these communications capabilities while protecting the viability of terrestrial radio telescopes. Building on prior NSF-funded design and planning work, this project will construct an Operational Data Sharing (ODS) system that supports automated, real-time spectrum sharing between radio astronomy observatories and satellite constellations. The project will deploy ODS and experiment with spectrum sharing between the Jansky Very Large Array in New Mexico, the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, and the Starlink constellation operated by Space Exploration Technologies, Inc. (SpaceX). Students from diverse backgrounds will take part in this work as summer interns, and public awareness of spectrum issues will be enhanced by integrating real-time updates derived from the ODS system into the existing public-facing telescope status display. The planned ODS system transmits information about the radio astronomy observatory’s status and plans to the satellite operator, including the antenna pointing direction or phased array beam direction, receiver center frequency and bandwidth as a function of time. ODS is structured as a database queried by the satellite operator, so only the information needed by that operator is transmitted. The observatory and the operator mutually agree on sharing approaches. For example, that satellites pointing phased-array beams into a specified zone near the observatory will only transmit in a subset of the operator’s licensed frequencies when the observatory is actively sensing in that band. The project explores methods that enable the operator to use more spectrum than is available under current static protection approaches when the observatory is sensing at other frequencies. The initial deployment and experiments focus on the 10.7-12.7 GHz band.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.