Elon Musk has one more concern. China announced its plans to put into orbit about 13,000 satellites to compete with Starlink, SpaceX’s satellite internet. According to a report from South China Morning Postthe Chinese military will launch a constellation that would offer the same services as its American counterpart, although also will include capabilities to spy on your opponents.
Unlike SpaceX, China not only plans to provide the internet and spy on its users, but set up a network capable of neutralizing Starlink. The project, codenamed GW, is being developed by researchers at the Beijing University of Space Engineering. Xu Can, professor in charge, revealed that the constellation is made up of 12,992 satellites that can be deployed quickly.
Chinese researchers plan to launch their satellites before Elon Musk and SpaceX hog the resources with Starlink. In a magazine publication Command Control and SimulationXu Can explained that the deployment would ensure that China would have a place in low orbit, although its satellites can be placed at other orbital altitudes. Chinese scientists are confident that their technology It can be placed in areas where Starlink has not reached.
Perhaps the most important thing in the article is that the constellation GW can be equipped with “anti-Starlink” payloads. According to Xu Can, Chinese satellites can carry out short and long range surveillance tasks. The Chinese military believes that Starlink’s satellites monitor space and can receive data from the US Department of Defense to coordinate their positions.
Scientists think that SpaceX could lead an attack at the request of the government, something that goes against the policies of the company led by Elon Musk. “Starlink satellites can use their orbital maneuverability to actively hit and destroy nearby targets in space,” they said. “China’s space defense and surveillance capability cannot cope with so many satellites,” Xu Can mentioned.
China has a plan to kill off Starlink
It’s not a secret that Starlink is seen as a threat by many countries. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, Russia had already declared war on SpaceX’s satellite internet. Now it is the turn of China, who is sure that the satellites are tools of the United States government to spy on their opponents.
GW plans to offer Internet service to users around the world, although the real objective is another. Its creators will implement measures to spy on and at some point suppress enemy constellations. Xu Can said that China to build more powerful radars to identify and track Starlink satellites. Over time, the military would have a catalog with all the data on every SpaceX unit moving into low orbit.
The report also mentions the development of new weapons such as high-powered laser and microwave beams to neutralize Starlink satellites who pass through China. Earlier, a group of researchers accused SpaceX of violating lower-Earth orbit traffic rules. After conducting a detailed study, Chinese scientists found that the satellites came within 4.9 km, which is less than the distance established to avoid collisions.
SpaceX satellites would help the US to “dominate” space
The Chinese military had already warned about the possibility of the United States dominating space with the help of Starlink. He PLA Daily published a warning months ago about the danger of having more than 12,000 SpaceX satellites circulating in low Earth orbit.
A year earlier, China accused SpaceX at the United Nations over an incident involving two Starlink satellites. In a letter sent to the UN Secretary General, the Asian country mentioned that the Tiangong Space Station had to carry out evasive maneuvers to avoid a collision with two satellites. In its letter, China said that members of the Space Treaty, signed in 1967, must act responsibly.