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Starlink’s start a few years ago caused significant concerns in China. In 2022, Chinese military scientists even stated that their country should be able to deactivate or destroy the Starlink satellites of SpaceX if they threaten national security. According to Beijing, the global satellite internet has a military application. Chinese scientists say they have found the “weak spot” of the system of thousands of satellites, reports South China Morning Post.
China has conducted a simulation according to which 99 Chinese satellites can approach and potentially destroy 1400 Starlink satellites in 12 hours. These satellites can be equipped with lasers, microwaves and other technologies for intelligence, tracking or performing other operations.
“The potential military value of the Starlink Mega -Star has been emphasized during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In recent years, militarization of space has increased, posing a significant threat to China’s cosmic security. , “writes the team led by Yuhua, Director of the Aerospace Control Department at the University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Their article was published on January 3 in Chinese academic magazine Systems Engineering and Electronics.
SpaceX, founded by Ilon Musk, has launched over 6,700 Starlink satellites, with this number being expected to grow to tens of thousands in the coming years.
Tracking such a vast constellation with a small number of satellites was once considered impossible as it requires extremely complex orbital calculations. Even if these calculations are resolved, their implementation was considered difficult in the short term.
In Yunhua and his colleagues, they also encountered practical military challenges. For example:
Chinese satellites should fly close enough to keep Starlink satellites in the scope of the detection equipment for at least 10 seconds, but not so close as to cause collisions.
Lasers and other equipment consume a large amount of energy, so scientists need to provide sufficient time for sunny charging for any Chinese satellite.
Maneuvering satellites takes different periods of time, which further increases the complexity of orbital calculations.
However, the task turned out to be easier than expected.
Chinese scientist Ren Yuangen points out that US military drones and stealth fighter jet can increase their data transmission rate over 100 times if they use Starlink. SpaceX has already signed a contract with the US Department of Defense to develop a new Starlink platform. Some time ago it was he who had suggested China develop cheap options for suppressing a group of thousands of satellites.
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