Breakthrough Discovery: Mysterious Radio Signal Emanates from Abandoned NASA Satellite!

A fascinating fast radio burst discovered last year has an unexpected origin. Unlike most such bursts, which come from deep space, this one was traced back to Earth—specifically to a NASA satellite that has been inactive for over 50 years.

On June 13, 2024, astronomers using the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) detected a burst of radio waves between 695.5 MHz and 1031.5 MHz. The research team, led by Clancy James at Curtin University, found that this signal originated from the long-decommissioned Relay 2 satellite, which was launched in 1964 and stopped working in 1967. Since then, it’s floated in high Earth orbit between 1,867 and 7,648 kilometers above our planet.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are intense and brief signals that astronomers have been trying to decode. They can emit energy equivalent to that of 500 million suns in just a millisecond. So far, only one FRB source has been pinpointed in our galaxy: a magnetar about 30,000 light-years away. This event was particularly intriguing because it came from just 4,500 kilometers away—much closer than typical FRBs.

The research team used the timing of the burst and satellite location to connect the signal to Relay 2. They proposed two potential causes: an electrostatic discharge or a plasma discharge possibly triggered by a tiny space rock hitting the satellite.
Electrostatic discharges can occur when satellites gather electrons as they move through Earth’s magnetic field. If enough voltage builds up, these electrons can suddenly release, creating a burst of energy. These discharges aren’t common, so the discovery could help scientists better understand them and their potential risks to satellites.

Interestingly, a study conducted in 2017 using the Arecibo telescope found similar radio signals centered around a GPS satellite, further supporting the idea that such discharges can produce detectable bursts.

This new finding not only sheds light on how signals can mistakenly be attributed to distant cosmic events, but it also raises the possibility of using remote sensing techniques to monitor these discharges more effectively in the future. Understanding such phenomena is crucial as space debris poses significant risks to our satellites and other space operations.

Research like this illustrates the fine line between space exploration and the technologies we create. As the study notes, knowing the origins of these signals can lead to better safety protocols for our satellites, aiming for a safer environment in Earth’s orbit where multiple human-made objects reside.

The full study is set to be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, and additional details can be found on arXiv.

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