Photo: SpaceX

China is actively looking for methods to counteract the Starlink satellite network Elon Musk which Beijing considers a threat to national security. Dozens of papers have been published in open scientific journals on ways to detect and destroy Starlink, writes Associated Press.

Chinese scientists propose various methods of counteraction: from creating a fleet of spy satellites that will monitor Starlink vehicles and potentially damage their solar panels with corrosive materials to using powerful lasers to burn the equipment.

The People's Liberation Army engineers are also considering the possibility of using small optical telescopes to monitor Starlink arrays.

The researchers believe that Starlink, a large constellation of low-orbit satellites that provide cheap and fast communications even in remote areas, poses a high risk to China and its strategic interests.

"As the United States integrates Starlink technology into military space assets to gain a strategic advantage over adversaries, other countries increasingly perceive Starlink as a threat to nuclear, space, and cyber security," wrote professors at China's National University of Defense Technology in a 2023 article.

The Associated Press notes that fears about Starlink's dominance intensified after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when it became clear what advantages Musk's satellites could provide on the battlefield.

  • Elon Musk's SpaceX operates more than 8,000 active vehicles and plans to deploy tens of thousands more. The company operates in more than 140 countries and has recently entered the markets of Vietnam, Niger, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Pakistan.
  • In early July, it became known that the satellite Internet provider Starlink receives license to operate in India.