By Yue Chen and Chen Yue

SpaceX successfully launched 21 Starlink satellites using the Falcon 9 rocket on January 3. Six of them have "direct-to-cell" capability. After enabling direct-to-cell service, the next-generation Starlink satellites can provide cellphones with direct broadband connectivity, supporting text, voice, and data transmission. Once this service is widely adopted, the Starlink system will connect to a large number of communication devices and realize seamless global communication.

Starlink is a massive low Earth orbit satellite constellation created by SpaceX. It consists of 42,000 low-cost small satellites and aims to create a fully covered satellite broadband network in low Earth orbit. Launched in 2015, Starlink currently has 5,491 satellites in orbit and has achieved preliminary global networking. It is accelerating its deployment capabilities through its network.

Since it was launched, the Starlink project has maintained high deployment efficiency. Data shows that since the end of 2019, the project has been deploying 44 satellites per month. With the introduction of second-generation Starlink satellites, it is pushing deployment at a pace of producing six satellites and thousands of user terminals per day. With the use of the Starship super-heavy rocket, the second-generation Starlink satellites are expected to be deployed on a larger scale with higher efficiency.

In regional conflicts, Starlink satellites help establish a strike chain to support ground forces in combat thanks to its advantages such as rapid deployment, flexible networking, and reliability. Additionally, SpaceX announced plans to launch 15,000 Starshield satellites to support the establishment of a rapid closed kill chain by the US military.

Since 2023, leveraging the advantages of low Earth orbit satellite constellation deployment technology and rocket launch capabilities, SpaceX has continued its efforts to promote Starlink project launch missions, accelerate the optimization of its system capabilities, expand its military applications, and continuously promote the layout of the low Earth orbit satellite constellation to achieve strategic advantages.

The Starlink project can provide global network communication, military reconnaissance, and space confrontation capabilities and serve as a crucial lever for the US to achieve space dominance. With the acceleration of its deployment, it will significantly impact space strategic stability, intensify the space arms race, and have negative implications for space security and governance.

First, Starlink has a clear military focus and strategic intentions. The US is intensifying its deployment of Starlink to strengthen its operational capabilities and deterrent advantages, obtain the competitive advantage as a major power from the offensive and defensive pattern, confrontation situation, and power balance, and undermine the stability of space strategy.

Second, Starlink occupies a significant amount of space frequency resources. It has further intensified the global competition for low Earth orbit resources and initiated a new round of space arms race.

Third, the high-density deployment of the Starlink project poses a serious threat to the security of space assets of various countries and affects the normal operation of satellites from other nations. In addition, the Starshield satellites can undertake suicide missions against space vehicles and carry weapon payloads for space strike missions, which poses a threat to space security.

(The author is from the War Studies College of the Academy of Military Sciences of the Chinese PLA.)