China has made a strategy to destroy Elon Musk’s SpaceX

China is increasingly concerned about the dominance of Musk’s SpaceX in low Earth orbit.

SpaceX launched 53 additional Starlink satellites into orbit last April. That’s not nothing. In anticipation of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites posing a threat, military researchers in China want their country ready to take out the giant internet constellation. Or maybe destroy it completely. It’s an ominous possibility, but easier said than done.

China is disappointed with Musk’s SpaceX

Because it allows America to gain the upper hand in space. Lead author Ren Yuanzhen, a researcher at the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications, argues that the Chinese military must develop ways to counter any threat from Starlink. The newspaper was already freely available yesterday, but miraculously it is suddenly no longer available. However, a translated version of the article is still available online.

“A combination of soft and hard kill methods must be applied to ensure that some Starlink satellites lose their functions. And destroy the operating system,” the newspaper reads. Referring to “hidden dangers and challenges” for China. The researchers behind the recent article also warn that Starlink will go on the “offensive” and use the satellites’ ion engines to knock China’s spacecraft or satellites out of orbit.

SpaceX

The company is building out the Starlink satellite constellation in low Earth orbit. And it is designed to provide fast internet to virtually every part of the world. The plan is to launch more than 42,000 satellites into orbit using the company’s Falcon 9 rockets.

So far, about 2,300 functioning Starlink satellites have been placed in orbit. It is only logical that other countries and/or companies will start to worry.