In recent years, the utilization of the radio spectrum has dramatically increased. Digital telecommunication applications, be it terrestrial cell-phone networks or new-space low-earth orbit satellite constellations, have not only acquired unprecedented amounts of spectrum but also use their frequencies everywhere on Earth. The consequences for radio astronomy and other scientific radio services are severe. A single cell-phone tower within hundreds of kilometers around a radio telescope can blind us and there is no place on Earth to escape the ubiquitous transmissions of satellite megaconstellations.
Since 1988, the Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF) has been advocating for our rights to use the spectrum. We do this by participation in the national and international regulatory frameworks - which is a truly endless endeavor. Hundreds if not thousands of documents need to be processed every year. We not only contribute to regulatory texts, but even more importantly, perform spectrum compatibility calculations. This can range from coordinating a single cell phone tower around your favorite radio telescope to massive-scale simulations involving thousands of satellites while accounting for transmitter and receiver antenna patterns, atmospheric losses, beam-forming, side-lobe contributions and out-of-band signal suppression. In this talk, we will present CRAF’s activities.
26/03/2024
The European VLBI Network (EVN) is pleased to announce a new seminar within the 3rd series of online seminars "Exploring the sharpest view of the Universe with the EVN"
Benjamin Winkel from the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR) and Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF)
26 March 2024 – 14:00 CET
The Zoom session will be opened at the starting time of the seminar
(Meeting ID: 820 3105 9495)