Author(s)
Blake Hutchins
Abstract
The rapid expansion of satellite constellations, particularly SpaceX’s StarLink system, has raised new concerns for radio astronomy due to potential radio frequency interference (RFI). This project presents an archival analysis of Very Large Array (VLA) data to evaluate whether increasing satellite numbers have measurably degraded calibration or imaging performance. We selected monthly continuum observations of the calibrator 3C286 across X, Ku, and L bands and processed them using the standard VLA calibration and imaging pipeline. Flagged data percentage, residual image RMS, and system temperature were used to asses possible impacts. Results in X band show stable performance, with flagged data, RMS values, and system temperatures consistent across channels, configurations, and time. In L band, a rise in system temperature was observed in the left hand correlation of the Direct-to-Cell downlink spectral window prior to 2025. This effect disappeared once the Operational Data Sharing (ODS) framework with SpaceX became active, returning system temperature to normal levels. These findings support earlier coordinated studies and demonstrate that while StarLink’s DtC transmissions can produce measurable effects, mitigation frameworks like ODS provide effective protection to scientific data quality.