As reported by Newsweek: A team of Chinese researchers has reportedly published a study calling for anti-satellite capabilities that could disable Elon Musk's Starlink satellites if deemed necessary.
The study was led by Ren Yuanzhen, a researcher with the Beijing Institute of Tracking and Telecommunications, and co-authored by scientists within China's defense industry according to the South China Morning Post, which has seen the publication.
The study is said to call for "a combination of soft and hard kill methods" that could be used to stop some Starlink satellites from working.
Starlink is a satellite internet network developed by Musk's company SpaceX. It involves thousands of small satellites in low-Earth orbit that beam down an internet connection to paying customers.
One concern amongst the scientists was that the Starlink network could be used to vastly increase the data transmission speed of U.S. military vehicles like fighter jets.
It's not clear exactly what methods could be used, though the study notes that the approach should be "low-cost, high-efficiency" and that the whole network is a problem rather than individual satellites, South China Morning Post reported.
This could mean that a missile-based approach may be unlikely, considering Starlink is composed of thousands of small satellites, and using missiles to destroy them all would almost certainly not be low-cost or high-efficiency. Thus, lasers, microwave technology, or even smaller satellites could be used to defend Chinese interests.
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