Elon Musk has explained why he believes Starlink should remain a civilian system and not be used for offensive strikes. He said that if Starlink satellites become legitimate targets for an enemy, their destruction could cause a chain reaction of collisions and litter the near-Earth space with debris.
Elon Musk has explained why he believes Starlink should remain a civilian system and not be used for offensive strikes. He said that if Starlink satellites become legitimate targets for an enemy, their destruction could cause a chain reaction of collisions and litter the near-Earth space with debris.
Musk agreed with a post by FilmLadd on social media X, who reminded us of Russia’s ability to destroy satellites. As an example, he cited the test of an anti-satellite missile on November 15, 2021, when Russia shot down its own satellite.
“This is truly one of the main reasons why Starlink should remain a civilian system,” Musk wrote in response.
According to Musk, commercial Starlink can be used to provide military infrastructure, but not to directly support offensive strikes that could make satellites a target for the enemy.
He warned that the destruction of Starlink satellites could trigger a “domino effect”: debris from one satellite would damage other satellites, creating more and more space debris. As a result, near-Earth space could become dangerous or even unusable.
This is not just a theoretical scenario. On November 15, 2021, Russia tested an anti-satellite missile, destroying its own satellite, Kosmos-1408. According to the US State Department, the test produced more than 1,500 traceable pieces of debris, as well as a significant number of smaller fragments. The debris posed a danger to satellites and the crew of the International Space Station.
Musk’s statement came amid a controversy over the use of Starlink by the Ukrainian military. The day before, the owner of SpaceX accused the Ukrainian army of violating the terms of use of the service — allegedly using it for strikes with attack drones. Musk said that the corresponding option has already been blocked.
He also emphasized that Starlink and Starshield are different systems: the first is a commercial service, while the second is intended for US national security purposes and is controlled by the US government.
The Ukrainian side denied Musk’s claims about the capabilities of commercial Starlink. Advisor to the President of Ukraine on defense technologies Serhiy "Flash" Beskrestnov stated that due to the limitation of the speed of movement of terminals and the lack of service over the territory of the Russian Federation, it is physically impossible to use commercial Starlink for long-range and medium-range strikes.
