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    "story_id": "mp-2026-08-13-027",
    "source_story_id": "tmp-story-satellite-radio-astronomy-emissions",
    "edition_id": "mp-2026-08-13-morning-0035",
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    "position": 16,
    "story_type": "dispatch",
    "section": "policy-regulation",
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    "headline": "One Downlink Harmonic Already Erased Most of the Band",
    "slug": "one-downlink-harmonic-already-erased-most-of-the-band",
    "dek": "A constellation-emissions model says a direct-to-device harmonic can already cost geodetic VLBI at least 59 percent of its usable data.",
    "summary": "A constellation-emissions model says a direct-to-device harmonic can already cost geodetic VLBI at least 59 percent of its usable data.",
    "body_text": "The analysis uses measured intended, spurious and unintended satellite emissions, then models aggregate power at Australian geodetic VLBI stations from today's roughly 12,000 catalogued spacecraft through much larger filed constellations. It finds single-dish protection criteria exceeded in two primary radio-astronomy bands and attributes at least 59 percent current VLBI data loss to the 5,240-megahertz second harmonic of a 2,620-megahertz downlink. The figures are the authors' modeled interpretation of survey measurements and proposed protection thresholds, not a regulatory finding.",
    "why_it_matters": "A constellation-emissions model says a direct-to-device harmonic can already cost geodetic VLBI at least 59 percent of its usable data.",
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      "The figures are the authors' modeled interpretation of survey measurements and proposed protection thresholds, not a regulatory finding."
    ],
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    "first_published_at": "2026-08-13T09:00:00.000-04:00",
    "modified_at": "2026-08-13T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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        "text": "A constellation-emissions model says a direct-to-device harmonic can already cost geodetic VLBI at least 59 percent of its usable data.",
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    "tags": [
      "satellites",
      "radio astronomy",
      "spectrum",
      "VLBI"
    ],
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  "sources": [
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      "source_id": "source-2026-08-13-016",
      "title": "arXiv preprint 2608.11659",
      "publisher": "arXiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.11659",
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      "published_at": "2026-08-12T01:06:09.000-04:00",
      "accessed_at": "2026-08-13T08:18:00.000-04:00",
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    "title": "One Downlink Harmonic Already Erased Most of the Band",
    "publisher": "The Machine Press",
    "published_at": "2026-08-13T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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