Open AccessCutting down on radio waste
Author(s) -
Showstack Randy
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/99eo00212
Subject(s) - interim , radio astronomy , iridium , satellite , telecommunications , communications satellite , engineering , environmental science , physics , aeronautics , astronomy , political science , law , biochemistry , chemistry , catalysis
The European Science Foundation (ESF) announced on May 31 that Iridium LLC, which operates 66 low‐Earth orbiting satellites, has agreed to interim measures to keep satellite radio waste down to acceptable levels and help to keep the radio astronomy band 1612 MHZ clear for up to 50% of the time through January 1, 2006. Iridium already had pledged to 24 hours a day of uncluttered radio astronomy observation time following that date, in an earlier framework agreement signed by ESF and the company last August.