Xu’s team said the GW satellite constellation was likely to be deployed quickly “before the completion of Starlink.” This would “ensure that our country has a place in low orbit and prevent the Starlink constellation from excessively pre-empting low-orbit resources,” they wrote.
The Chinese satellites could also be placed in “orbits where the Starlink constellation has not yet reached,” the researchers said, adding that they would “gain opportunities and advantages at other orbital altitudes, and even suppress Starlink.” The Chinese satellites could be equipped with an anti-Starlink payload to carry out various missions, such as conducting “close-range, long-term surveillance of Starlink satellites,” they said.
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