The South China Morning Post reports that Chinese researchers are studying ways to destroy or even destroy the Starlink satellites if they ever become a threat to national security.
According to the newspaper, a new research paper published in China lays out the researchers' recommendations.
The paper states that a combination of soft and hard kill methods should be used to make some Starlink satellites lose their functions.
While Musk has found a huge footing in the country, his space venture has been less popular in China, with two satellites coming dangerously close to China's brand new space station last year.
Several top-secret missions have been delivered into space by SpaceX on behalf of the US military.
According to the Chinese researchers, Starlink's ion thrusters could provide enough power to go on the offensive and knock Chinese targets out of the picture.
They argue that China needs to develop technologies that can intercept the signals from these satellites.
Musk seems aware of the potential for military attacks on his satellite swarm.
I hope we don't have to put this to a test, but I think we can launch satellites faster than they can launch anti-satellites missiles, he said in an Insider interview earlier this year.
That point has not gone over the heads of the Chinese researchers.
The Starlink constellation is a system of its own. This requires low-cost, high-efficiency measures.
The country is working on various anti-satellite technologies. It is not clear how representative these plans are of China's military efforts.
The research shows that the efforts to build a global broadband network is creating enemies among various world powers.
Chinese researchers say China must be able to destroy Musk's Starlink satellites in a war.
There is more on Starlink.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
