SpaceX has announced the establishment of a new business line called Starshield, which targets the US national security agencies and the Pentagon. Some commentators believe that this move marks a key step toward the militarization of the Starlink.
SpaceX公司日前宣布成立一个名为“星盾”的新业务部门，它的目标客户是美国国家安全机构和五角大楼。有评论认为，此举标志着“星链”计划朝着军事化发展迈出关键一步。
Starlink,a grand vision proposed by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in 2014, is aimed to build a space-based communication system with global coverage, large capacity and low latency that can provide high-speed internet service globally. Many people in the industry questioned that if such a large number of satellites are all launched into low-earth orbit, the entire earth will be wrapped in a large web, which will inevitably bring about serious problems such as frequency band competition and space congestion.
“星链”计划是美国太空探索技术公司（SpaceX公司）总裁马斯克2014年提出的一个宏大构想，目标是建设一个全球覆盖、大容量、低延时的天基通信系统，在全球范围内提供高速互联网服务。“星链”计划公布后，有不少业内人士就提出质疑，认为数量如此庞大的卫星如果全部发射进入近地轨道，会像一张大网把整个地球包裹起来，这势必会带来近地轨道频段的资源竞争、空间拥挤等严重问题。
However, this satellite network has been transformed into the military network of the US. Professor Jin Yinan, a military commentator, believes that upgrading Starlink to Starshield and expanding mature civilian technology into military applications fully expose the US's ambition to seek military hegemony in space.
可是，现如今，这张卫星网摇身一变又即将成为美国的军事网络。军事评论员金一南教授认为，把“星链”升级为“星盾”，将一项成熟的民间技术直接转为军用，充分暴露美谋求太空军事霸权的野心。
It is known to all that SpaceX's Starlink Internet satellites were widely involved and played an important role in the development of the battlefield situation after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The advantages of Starlink's network transmission using Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEOs) are very obvious on the Ukrainian battlefield. And that's exactly what pushed the US military to hurriedly contact with SpaceX for potential cooperation. Now the US military and Elon Musk have reached an agreement to upgrade the Starlink system to the Starshield system.
众所周知，俄乌冲突爆发后， SpaceX公司的“星链”互联网卫星广泛参与其中，并且对战场的态势发展发挥了重要作用。在乌克兰战场上，“星链”利用近地低轨道卫星进行网络传输的优势非常明显。美国军方也正是看到这一点，迅速与SpaceX公司沟通，希望进行合作。现在美国军方和马斯克达成了协议，就是把“星链”系统升级变成“星盾”系统。
Jin pointed out that the change from Starlink to Starshield is not just a change of name. The most obvious difference between Starlink and Starshield is that Starlink was originally designed for commercial services, while Starshield was originally designed to serve the US government and US national security. In fact, it serves the US Department of Defense. Specifically, it serves the US intelligence collection, reconnaissance, and even global strike systems. Compared with Starlink, Starshield has higher specifications and more complex functions. Starshield will bring great convenience to the US in terms of reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and combating opponents. But this is definitely not good news for the whole world, and it is worth close attention.
金一南指出，从“星链”到“星盾”不单单是一个名词的转换。“星链”与“星盾”最明显的区别是，“星链”系统原来的设计初衷是为商业服务的，而“星盾”从设计之初就是为美国政府、美国国家安全服务，实际上就是为美国国防部服务的，具体来说，就是为美国的情报搜集、侦察、甚至全球打击系统服务。“星盾”与“星链”相比，规格更高，功能更复杂。从“星链”变成“星盾”，将在侦察、搜集情报和打击对手等方面，给美国带来极大的便利。但是这对整个世界来讲，绝对不是什么福音，这必须引起人们的高度关注。
According to SpaceX's official website, Starshield will provide the US military with earth observation, communication and hosted payloads services. First, it can conduct a detailed reconnaissance of the target country. Second, it can also carry out cryptographic communication, that is, it can intercept all communication methods of the other party while protecting its own communication system from being intercepted. Third, after the Starlink system is upgraded to Starshield, it can effectively manage nuclear weapons and nuclear warheads orbiting the earth at high speed.
根据SpaceX公司官方网站信息，“星盾”将会为美国军方提供地球观测、通讯和托管载荷服务。首先，它可以对目标国进行详细的侦察。其次，它还可以进行保密通信，就是在保障己方通信系统不被对方截获的同时，却可以截获对方的所有通信手段。再者，“星链”系统升级成“星盾”后，能够对围绕地球高速运行的核武器、核弹头进行有效管理。
According to the US space version of the heartland theory, whoever controls the Earth's orbit controls the near-Earth space and whoever controls the near-Earth space controls the Earth. The Starshield program has accelerated the militarization of low-orbit satellites. It exposes the US's eagerness to seize outer space orbital resources and its ambition to subvert the existing combat system. Vladimir Yermakov, Director of the Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, recently revealed that the US Department of Defense is using a constellation of low-orbit satellites to test a military command system that can cover anywhere in the world, but most countries lack "effective countermeasures."
美国太空版中心地带理论提出：“谁控制了地球轨道，谁就控制了近地空间；谁控制了近地空间，谁就控制了地球。”“星盾”计划的问世，加速了低轨卫星军事化转型发展，凸显出美国急于抢占外空轨道资源，并企图颠覆现有作战体系的野心。俄罗斯外交部防扩散和军控司司长叶尔马科夫近日透露，美国防部正利用低轨道卫星星座测试可覆盖世界任何地方的军事指挥体系，而绝大多数国家对此缺乏“有效反制手段”。
From Starlink to Starshield, people can see clearly that the US is trying to build a unilateral space military advantage, and distance itself from its opponents to achieve a dimension-reduction strike. The Starshield system will bring new challenges to global security and strategic balance. Therefore, we must maintain a high level of vigilance against the threat posed by the Starshield system.
从“星链”到“星盾”，人们可以明显看出，美国正在力图构建一种单边的太空军事优势，力图和对手拉开距离，从而实现降维打击。“星盾”系统将对全球安全和战略平衡带来新的挑战。因此“星盾”所形成的威胁，必须引起我们的高度重视。
Editor's note: Originally published on military.cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
