NRAO Zone Regulatory Services (ZRS) Support

The spectrum management function carried out by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory is vital to support the ongoing astronomical research in several topical and geographic areas, and involves coordination between both government and commercial entities to ensure the research activities are protected from unexpected radio interference. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) proposal is for three years of NSF support for its Zone Regulatory Services (ZRS) function. NRAO’s Spectrum Management Department oversees spectrum protection across three zones containing NSF and other radio facilities: the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ) around the Green Bank Observatory, the Puerto Rico Coordination Zone (PRCZ), and the New Mexico Radio Coordination Zone (NMRCZ), which covers the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and the ten Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) sites. The proposal funds work in four interconnected topics: (1) ZRS staffing and operations at the three sites, including a new Regulatory Assistant at the VLA and deployment of the Quiet Zone Application Portal (QZAP) for online concurrence to facilitate faster and more efficient spectrum analyses; (2) general spectrum management support, including review of frequency licenses and temporary authorizations, coordination with satellite operators, technical review of spectrum impacts to NRAO facilities, and broader participation internationally; (3) propagation modeling and coverage studies; and (4) dynamic spectrum coexistence work, anchored by the machine-to-machine Operational Data Sharing (ODS) system and Telescope Boresight Avoidance (TBA) technique. NRAO will be not only conducting modeling, but also field testing with multiple commercial entities to pilot and roll out new dynamic sharing techniques that have the potential to be broadly applicable commercially. With rising RFI levels, accelerating satellite deployment, and new spectrum auctions, this support is needed to keep the U.S. radio astronomy community ahead of the operational challenges facing federally funded radio astronomy. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.