Sidelobes aren't really 'soft edges' to a main beam, they're unintended peaks at angles outside the main beam which sap gain. You can see peaks here around 29

Sidelobes aren't really 'soft edges' to a main beam, they're unintended peaks at angles outside the main beam which sap gain. You can see peaks here around 29, 55 and 68 degrees: https://www.gpsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Improved-antenna-pattern-L1-W.jpg https://www.gpsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Improved... As such, successive GPS satellite antenna designs have been refined to reduce sidelobes, just as deep-space operators have realised they could be useful. TLDR: sidelobes aren't like gentle feathering at the edges of a beam, they're more like petals of a daisy.