A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral and delivered 22 of Elon Musk's Starlink satellites. Photo: Craig Bailey/AP < p>
Commercial satellites such as Elon Musk's Starlink could become legitimate targets in a war if they help one side, a space law expert has warned.
Under the Geneva Convention, countries involved in military conflict are prohibited from attacking civilian targets.
But experts say the lines are becoming increasingly blurred as satellite companies become vulnerable to attack, either through cyber warfare or missile strikes.
Musk's Starlink satellite constellation is helping Ukrainian forces attack Russian tanks with drones, although the billionaire warned that the service would be used for Netflix, not drone strikes.
Russia, China and the US have already tested anti-satellite missiles and shown they have the ability to destroy satellites in orbit, and Russia has warned that it will take action against private companies that provide assistance to enemy countries.
Speaking. At the UK Space Conference in Belfast this week, Major Jeremy Grunert of the US Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps said companies need to be careful not to get into conflict.
“In the area of the law of war, a nation must target military targets and refrain from targeting civilian targets,” he said.
“Starlink could be a potential military target.”
“But civilian targets could possibly be targeted.” if it brought military benefits. For example, right before the invasion of Normandy, bridges leading to Normandy and railways leading to Normandy were bombed due to military benefits provided to the Germans.
“The same thing happens in outer space, and of course the way civilian systems like Starlink are used to target drones (which has proven somewhat controversial even within the Starlink organization itself) will perhaps make Starlink a potential military target. under the laws of war.”
Russia has already warned that Ukraine's use of civilian infrastructure will make it a legitimate target.
Elon Musk is a big fan of space, but his Starlink satellites could become a target for Russia. Photo: Michael Gonzalez/Getty
Major Grunert added: “There was some shock at the time these comments were made.”
< p>“But in the context of the law of war, the Russians are most likely not wrong, since such things can bring military benefits.< /p>
“This does not mean that civilian satellites will be targeted or targeted all the time. But this means that potentially they could be.”
Some countries now have the ability to knock satellites out of orbit. The United States successfully destroyed one of its satellites in 1985, and in 2007 China launched a missile attack on one of its weather satellites.
The threat to the International Space Station
In 2021, Russia deliberately destroyed its defunct “Cosmos”. 1408, leaving behind hundreds of thousands of pieces of space debris that pose a threat to the International Space Station.
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov reportedly warned Musk that intervention in the war “could lead to a nuclear response “.
Musk was recently accused of turning off Starlink to prevent a drone attack on the Russian fleet off the coast of Crimea, but it was later revealed that there was no coverage. in the area.
When asked by biographer Walter Isaacson about his role in the Ukraine war, Mr. Musk replied: “Starlink was not designed to fight wars. This was done so that people could watch Netflix, relax, connect to the Internet to study, and do good peaceful things instead of drone strikes.”
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