[rfrey]

I think the "if Amazon/Google/FB don't comply, someone else will take their place" argument is weaker when replacement requires a constellation of thousands of satellites.

[Roritharr]

I wonder if the USG would consider the shooting down of Starlink Satellites as an act of war after SpaceX refuses to comply with chinese regulations.

It's probably all moot as China would probably simply halt Tesla Sales, as they are not bound by the logics of legality.

[postingawayonhn]

I don't think anyone has the ability to shoot down enough Starlink satellites to make a difference.

Musk's biggest risk in China is the CCP confiscating the Tesla factory in Shanghai.

[throwaway53453]

This is why the Space Force is unironically a great idea.

[Demigod33]

> I don't think anyone has the ability to shoot down enough Starlink satellites to make a difference.

Not with rockets, but maybe with lasers? What damage can a single one do? Could a country deploy them at specific orbits to have enough coverage to destroy a sufficient amount?

[martin8412]

China most probably have the resources for that if they want to

[wcoenen]

Turning one satellite into a cloud of debris would suffice, Kessler syndrome would do the rest.

[jiofih]

We are very very far from that happening. Even with most satellites being in the same torus around earth, if every single one in orbit right now were to instantly shatter, each piece would have something like a 1000sqkm volume to roam in.

[JasonFruit]

*area

[jiofih]

I meant km3 :)

[voldacar]

Debris would deorbit rapidly, starlink satellites are relatively low-altitude.

[TaylorAlexander]

Shooting down any satellites is extremely dangerous due to the orbital debris this would create. The US would take that act very seriously.

[jiofih]

There is no “airspace” controlled by countries in space, and the satellites are not geostationary, so they would have to shoot down everyone’s fleet.