Stealth submarines fitted with space-shooting lasers, supply-chain sabotage and custom-built attack satellites armed with ion thrusters. Those are just some of the strategies 
scientists have been developing to counter what Beijing sees as a potent threat: Elon Musk’s armada of Starlink communications satellites.
government and military scientists, concerned about Starlink’s potential use by adversaries in a military confrontation and for spying, have published dozens of papers in public journals that explore ways to hunt and destroy Musk’s satellites.
researchers believe that Starlink poses a high risk to the government and its strategic interests. That fear has mostly been driven by the company’s close ties to the US intelligence and defense establishment, as well as its growing global footprint.
Chinese researchers are not the only ones concerned about Starlink, which has a stranglehold on certain space-based communications. Some traditional US allies are also questioning the wisdom of handing over core communications infrastructure — and a potential trove of data — to a company run by an unpredictable foreign businessman whose allegiances are not always clear.
Apprehensions deepened after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine made clear the battlefield advantages Starlink satellites could convey and have been exacerbated by Musk’s proliferating political interests.
Starlink’s omnipresence and potential military applications have unnerved Beijing and spurred the nation’s scientists to action. In paper after paper, researchers painstakingly assessed the capabilities and vulnerabilities of a network that they clearly perceive as menacing and strove to understand what China might learn — and emulate — from Musk’s company as Beijing works to develop a similar satellite system.
Though Starlink does not operate in China, Musk’s satellites nonetheless can sweep over Chinese territory. Researchers from National Defense University in 2023 simulated Starlink’s coverage of key geographies, including Beijing, Taiwan, and the polar regions, and determined that Starlink can achieve round-the-clock coverage of Beijing.
In another paper — this one published by the government-backed China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team — researchers mapped out vulnerabilities in Starlink’s supply chain. “The company has more than 140 first-tier suppliers and a large number of second-tier and third-tier suppliers downstream,” they wrote in a 2023 paper. “The supervision for cybersecurity is limited.”
Engineers from the PLA, in another 2023 paper, suggested creating a fleet of satellites to tail Starlink satellites, collecting signals and potentially using corrosive materials to damage their batteries or ion thrusters to interfere with their solar panels.
Other Chinese academics have encouraged Beijing to use global regulations and diplomacy to contain Musk, even as the nation’s engineers have continued to elaborate active countermeasures: Deploy small optical telescopes already in commercial production to monitor Starlink arrays. Concoct deep fakes to create fictitious targets. Shoot powerful lasers to burn Musk’s equipment.
apnews.com/article/spacex
scientists have been developing to counter what Beijing sees as a potent threat: Elon Musk’s armada of Starlink communications satellites.
government and military scientists, concerned about Starlink’s potential use by adversaries in a military confrontation and for spying, have published dozens of papers in public journals that explore ways to hunt and destroy Musk’s satellites.
researchers believe that Starlink poses a high risk to the government and its strategic interests. That fear has mostly been driven by the company’s close ties to the US intelligence and defense establishment, as well as its growing global footprint.
Chinese researchers are not the only ones concerned about Starlink, which has a stranglehold on certain space-based communications. Some traditional US allies are also questioning the wisdom of handing over core communications infrastructure — and a potential trove of data — to a company run by an unpredictable foreign businessman whose allegiances are not always clear.
Apprehensions deepened after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine made clear the battlefield advantages Starlink satellites could convey and have been exacerbated by Musk’s proliferating political interests.
Starlink’s omnipresence and potential military applications have unnerved Beijing and spurred the nation’s scientists to action. In paper after paper, researchers painstakingly assessed the capabilities and vulnerabilities of a network that they clearly perceive as menacing and strove to understand what China might learn — and emulate — from Musk’s company as Beijing works to develop a similar satellite system.
Though Starlink does not operate in China, Musk’s satellites nonetheless can sweep over Chinese territory. Researchers from National Defense University in 2023 simulated Starlink’s coverage of key geographies, including Beijing, Taiwan, and the polar regions, and determined that Starlink can achieve round-the-clock coverage of Beijing.
In another paper — this one published by the government-backed China Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team — researchers mapped out vulnerabilities in Starlink’s supply chain. “The company has more than 140 first-tier suppliers and a large number of second-tier and third-tier suppliers downstream,” they wrote in a 2023 paper. “The supervision for cybersecurity is limited.”
Engineers from the PLA, in another 2023 paper, suggested creating a fleet of satellites to tail Starlink satellites, collecting signals and potentially using corrosive materials to damage their batteries or ion thrusters to interfere with their solar panels.
Other Chinese academics have encouraged Beijing to use global regulations and diplomacy to contain Musk, even as the nation’s engineers have continued to elaborate active countermeasures: Deploy small optical telescopes already in commercial production to monitor Starlink arrays. Concoct deep fakes to create fictitious targets. Shoot powerful lasers to burn Musk’s equipment.
apnews.com/article/spacex