Chinese defence boffins ponder microwaving Starlink satellites to stop surveillance
The other countermeasure the paper envisions is the swift launch of China's own low-Earth orbit broadband constellation, and its insertion into useful orbits.
As it happens, Beijing filed paperwork in 2021 with the International Telecommunications union for just such a constellation – outlining plans for a 13,000-strong fleet of sats. The paper suggests those birds should be slotted into orbits that Starlink doesn't already occupy – so that China can have dibs before SpaceX launches the other 30,000 or so satellites it's suggested Starlink will require.
The paper doesn't specify how China will get the job done. The Middle Kingdom's space program is achieving success with more complex missions like the construction of its space station, Mars missions, and journeys to the Moon, but China currently cannot match SpaceX's launch schedule. took off for the American concern in February 2023 alone – four of them dedicated to launching Starlink satellites.With its focus on the SpaceX threat, the paper doesn't mention Amazon's plan for its own"Kuiper" constellation of over 3,000 satellites, or other similar plans. ®
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