Competition between China and the United States in the space sector is intensifying, with both countries developing satellite constellations for civilian and military communications, aiming for control of low Earth orbit
With the goal of "dominating" civilian and military wireless communications, it is increasingly open warfare between the space sector players of China and the United States. Pursuing spacecraft security and national security are the main goals that have prompted both these countries to acquire their own low-orbit satellite constellations.
Space war between China and the United States: the race for satellite constellations
Currently, Elon Mask's company, Space X, has carried out a total of 494 launches, marking a record 96 of the world's 220 launches in 2023, with China coming in second with 46 dispatches.
Beijing, however, is responding with a domestic version of Starlink that made its debut last August with its first low orbit launches. In the coming years, however, China will be able to launch several launch missions of more than 10,000 constellations each. Beijing has also begun developing means to disconnect and destroy Space X satellites because of-according to it-the threats these devices can bring to its national security.
SpaceX's Project Starshield: the future of US national security in space
Thanks to Space X, the Pentagon has not only achieved greater opportunities for launching vehicles into orbit, but has also achieved a global bundling of high-speed broadband access through the use of Starlink satellite communication, realizing radical changes in how it controls its troops in theaters of war.
JACKSONVILLE, NC, UNITED STATES -- 2024 A new form of satellite communication is now being used by Marines of 2d Marine Division (MARDIV), II Marine Expeditionary Force. Starshield, a commercial wideband satellite communications service, is being implemented across units in the 2d MARDIV as a commercial solution for wideband satellite communications as well as joint, coalition, and partner forces.What makes Starshield more efficient than previous military satellites is its ability to use a proliferated low earth orbit, providing a higher bandwidth and low latency services. These capabilities allow Starshield to transport data much faster, making it easier for security reasons and a variety of information exchange requirements.“At a recent Service Level Training Event our unit was able to maintain services and the ability to plan during a significant weather event when the base fiber and other satellite transmission pieces were down due to cloud cover and power outages, said Major Tim Wrenn, communications officer with 6th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division.Units across 2d MARDIV are using Starshield for basic services such as email, telephony and data transmission to more complex and low-latency dependent capabilities such as targeting and fires. They are much easier to configure, making it easier than ever before for Marines to get communications established.“My experience with Starshield has been great. Setting it up and making sure it works with my gear has never been an issue with me. I was able to test its capabilities while on a boat and actively moving. If service dropped, I would have them back up right away”, said Cpl. Felipe Martinez, a network administrator with 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2d MARDIV.In addition to these capabilities, the on-the-move Starshield terminals can be used in the maritime domain helping Marines seamlessly integrate with our Naval partners.“At 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, our first use of Starshield was through a bilateral exercise, Archipelago Endeavor 24, with the Swedish Marine Corps. We mounted a Starshield on the Swedish Command and Control Combat Boat, enabling a combined operations center throughout the Swedish Archipelago. Having high bandwidth, low latency services on a mobile maritime platform allowed U.S. and Swedish Marines to prosecute fire missions and provide reliable and relevant information throughout the battlespace”, explained Capt. Quinn T. Hemler, the assistant operations officer with G-6 communications.Overall, the use of Starshield across the Division has offered increased national security with capabilities distinct from other previously used networks, making it a more user-friendly and efficient resource. 2d MARDIV continues to find ways to improve its warfighting competency in every domain necessary to execute ground combat element operations as part of a Marine Air Ground Task Force or Naval Expeditionary Force. |
On December 5, 2022, SpaceX revealed information about the Starshield project. This is the further development of the Starlink satellite communication system, taking into account the needs of the U.S. military and government departments.
So far, Elon Musk's company has not shared details about the Starshield initiative. Therefore, there is not too much information about the scale of the planned space infrastructure and its capabilities in early December 2022. Starshield is said to be designed with an eye on three main areas: imagery, communication resources and putting different kinds of payloads into orbit.
Starshield is expected to become a kind of "end-to-end" national security center. SpaceX plans to manufacture a wide range of equipment, from ground antennas to satellites that will be launched into space on the company's own launchers. In addition, SpaceX will be responsible for managing the satellite network. It also plans to provide connection to the Starshield infrastructure of government and military satellites already in operation via inter-satellite laser communication systems.
While the Starlink platform is designed for commercial and consumer use, Starshield will be used by the state, SpaceX says. The Starshield system uses "additional highly reliable cryptographic algorithms to host secret payloads and securely process important data."
One of Starshield's main users will apparently be the Pentagon: the U.S. Department of Defense is already actively using SpaceX's services, and the emergence of a specialized Starshield satellite platform will expand the scope of cooperation. In essence, Starshield represents a step far beyond commercial markets.
Creating a satellite network for the Pentagon for $1.8 billion
SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites as part of a secret contract with U.S. intelligence, five sources familiar with the program said in March 2024, indicating stronger ties between billionaire Elon Musk's space company and national security agencies.
According to sources, the network was created by SpaceX's Starshield division as part of a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Intelligence Agency (NRO)
If successful, the program will greatly expand the ability of the U.S. government and military to quickly identify potential targets virtually anywhere in the world.
Testing Starlink in the Arctic
In early December 2023, it was reported that U.S. Armed Forces specialists completed comprehensive tests of Space X's satellite communication system, Starlink, in the Arctic. The tests, lasting about nine months, produced positive results.
Brian Beal, chief engineer of the Office of Integrated Capabilities as part of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, said the tests of the satellite broadband Internet access were conducted under harsh conditions, with very high winds and extremely low temperatures. He says Starlink is recognized as a "reliable, high-performance communications system" when used in the Arctic.
"As soon as we securely fastened the terminals so that they could withstand powerful gusts of wind, the system started operating stably without any problems. All tests went smoothly," Beale added. Air Force experts, among other things, also assessed how useful Starlink's satellite infrastructure could be to the Pentagon. The harsh climate and remoteness of the Arctic region limit communications via existing U.S. military satellites. Meanwhile, the presence of stable data channels in this area is of great importance to the United States as several states, including Russia and China, are seeking to strengthen their presence in the Arctic zone.
As of early December 2023, the Starlink infrastructure has about 5,000 spacecraft. Of these, more than 230 satellites are in polar orbit, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. This allows the Pentagon to use Starlink terminals as an alternative means of communication in the Arctic.
China's response: G60 and GW constellations for national security
The G60 constellation, also called the Thousand Sails constellation, was first launched last August. The G60 project, which plans to launch about 12,000 satellites into low orbit to provide broadband Internet services with global coverage, will be led by commercial space company Yuanxin Satellite. Yuanxin Satellite is a provider of low-orbit multimedia broadband satellite network management services based in Shanghai, China. Yuanxin Satellite has 14 investors, including Xin Ding Capital and Hengxu Capital.
According to the International Telecommunication Union, China's first applied constellation project was the GW constellation, which plans to have 12,992 satellites, divided into two subconstellations. It will deploy 6,080 satellites in an extremely low orbit below 500 km and 6,912 satellites in a low earth orbit of 1,145 km. It will be led by a national team. In essence, in the next few years China will be able to launch several launch missions of "more than 10,000 constellations" each.
Astropolitics and space control
There are two main reasons for Beijing, with for the U.S., to have its own "Starlink": spacecraft security and national security. The US has long extended geopolitical theories to space and proposed astropolitics.
U.S. space strategist Dolman once said, "Whoever controls low Earth orbit controls near-Earth space, and whoever controls near-Earth space dominates Earth."
Low Earth orbit collision risk
Large constellations such as Starlink are actually deployed in low Earth orbit, but it is necessary to know that orbital resources are limited. Among them, there are only 60,000 satellites in low Earth orbit in total, but more than 70,000 have been taken, which is not enough.
The rule of the International Telecommunication Union is first come, first served. Among them, SpaceX has applied for 42,000 satellites, and as of July 2024, more than 6,000 have been sent. The increase of satellites in low Earth orbit brings with it a very serious problem: the risk of collision.
Starlink satellites have twice approached the Beijing Space Station, which was forced to urgently change its orbit to avoid the risk of collision, according to Chinese sources.
But there are many situations similar to this one. For example, in 2019 Starlink almost collided with the European Space Agency's Aeolus satellite. According to a SpaceX report, from Dec. 1, 2022 to May 31, 2023, Starlink was forced to change direction 25,299 times to avoid colliding with other spacecraft and space debris. The number of times is not a big deal, but what is more terrifying is that the number of collision avoidance maneuvers in these six months has doubled since June-November 2022, which means that the probability of collision is still increasing exponentially, doubling about every six months.
And this is a case when there are only a few thousand Starlinks in orbit. If there were 42,000 of them-as budgeted-it would mean that 70 percent of low Earth orbit would consist of Space X satellites alone. In essence, it would be so densely populated that the probability of collision would be unimaginable.
Starshield and collaboration with the U.S. military
As mentioned, SpaceX has also partnered with the U.S. military to create a military version of Starlink: Star Shield. SpaceX itself also has a lot of technology from NASA and the U.S. military. In other words, if a war breaks out in the future, SpaceX will definitely be controlled by the U.S. military. In wartime, 42,000 Starlink satellites can cause enormous damage to China. Starlink, in fact, provides intelligence and communication services to the U.S. military.
Limitations and Chinese development of Starlink
In addition, Starlink could be used by countries outside the United States. For example, the Japanese military has decided to use Space X satellite devices. Therefore, for both civilian and military use, China is forced to develop a national "Starlink." However, Beijing will soon have three constellations at its disposal: the GW, the G60 and the "Honghu-3" constellation.
The factors that have so far limited Chinese development of "Starlink" are mainly two: the high cost of satellite production and rocket launching. And to put it bluntly, Beijing is still behind the U.S. in this area.
Chinese anti-satellite technologies
As it became known in late May 2022, China has also begun creating means to disconnect and destroy Starlink satellites to protect its national security.
According to the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Communication Technology, China must develop anti-satellite capabilities, including control systems with unprecedented scale and sensitivity, to track and monitor every Starlink satellite.
"A combination of soft and hard defeat methods must be used to force some Starlink satellites to lose their functionality and destroy the grouping's operating system," military experts in Beijing write in an article published in the Chinese journal Modern Defense Technology.
According to Chinese experts, U.S. military drones and stealth fighters can increase data transfer rates by more than 100 times using Starlink. Hfytt SpaceX has signed a contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop new technologies based on the Starlink platform, including highly sensitive instruments capable of detecting and tracking hypersonic weapons moving through the Earth's atmosphere at five times the speed of sound or even faster.
Is Starlink invulnerable?
However, it is believed that with more than 2,300 satellites in orbit (as of May 2022), Starlink is now considered invulnerable, as the system can maintain performance even after the loss of some satellite devices.
China is also said to be developing a number of alternative anti-satellite technologies, including microwaves that can disrupt communications or burn electronic components.
Chinese scientists have also developed lasers to blind or damage satellites, nanosatellites that can be launched in large numbers to disable larger satellites, and computer weapons to hack a satellite communications network.
[This article was originally published in Digital Agenda magazine.]
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