#时事热点头条说#
About Musk's Starlink system, everyone is familiar with it. It is like a web in the sky, covering the entire earth, quietly gazing at everyone.
Now, Musk is going to hand over some control of Starlink to the US Department of Defense. There are many opinions about his intentions in doing so.
Some people say that he does not want to get involved in war and the military, but more people think that Starlink has the shadow of the US military behind it from the beginning, and now it is just not pretending. I don't know what everyone thinks?
Musk is helpless?
According to Yahoo News and Russia Today TV (RT) and other foreign media reports, "Musk" author Walter Isaacson broke the news that "Musk will transfer some control of Starlink to the Pentagon." As soon as this remark came out, it immediately aroused the discussion of countless people.
Some foreign netizens said: "Musk is going to compromise? Beginning to become a 'lackey' of the US government? Another part said: "Musk's move may hide a larger conspiracy, and he intends to use the Pentagon's hand to achieve his sinister goals."
In fact, about Starlink used in war, in an interview, Musk once said: "Why should I get involved in this war?" ”
Those who support him feel that Musk does not want his Starlink to be used as a killing weapon, and if the Pentagon insists on adding this scientific and technological achievement to the battlefield and putting pressure on him, then the "sword-bearer" will let the US military be it.
It can be seen that Musk's behavior of handing over part of Starlink is nothing more than wanting to kick the ball to the Pentagon. In this way, everything Starlink does next has nothing to do with him. There is also a feeling that "people are in the rivers and lakes, and they can't help themselves".
Starlink
Speaking of this, many people may ask, what is this so-called starlink? The Internet is clamoring that Starlink is terrifying and full of conspiracy theories, will it be unfounded?
On this issue, let's talk about it. The Starlink program was proposed by Musk in 2015, and according to his vision, SpaceX plans to launch 12,000 satellites into low-Earth orbit in the five years from 2019 to 2024. These satellites are 550 kilometers above the ground and are always hovering around Earth like electrons orbiting the nucleus of an atom.
Once the Starlink system is successfully built, Musk can treat it as a global total wifi. That is, to provide network signals to people on the earth through satellites, so that users can make calls and watch videos anytime, anywhere.
Of course, due to the long distance between the satellite and the ground. Therefore, a Starlink gateway ground station is needed in the middle to serve as a transit station, so as to connect the user terminal and the satellite. Once people connect their mobile phones to Starlink, they can quickly access Starlink's network, thereby using satellites to surf.
According to the plan announced by SpaceX, Starlink has a total of four package services. The first is the home version, which is equivalent to a router, which can be used at home. It's just that this version of the package is relatively slow, only about 10mb-20mb/s, the advantage is that the price is relatively cheap, probably every salaryman can afford it.
The second is the commercial version, which is mainly used by enterprises. Compared to the home version, the commercial version is a little faster, and of course, the price has also risen.
The third is the mobile version, this version of Starlink service is mainly used for RVs and camping. Since it is powered by solar energy, it can follow people to migrate around the world.
The fourth is the maritime version, which is mainly used for ship services, drilling platforms and yachts. Compared to other versions, the Maritime Edition is resistant to bad weather, as well as strong winds and waves.
It can be said that SpaceX has come up with ways to make money according to the different needs of different users.
Starlink and military
In fact, as early as 2020, Starlink has been put into use. According to SpaceX, Starlink has added 100-200Mb/s of network speed to 1 million users around the world, which can be called a network speed amplifier. With it, people no longer have to worry about watching movies stuttering.
But is Starlink just used to increase internet speed? The U.S. government has given a negative answer. As early as 2018, two years before Starlink's official operation, then US President Trump incorporated it into the military satellite system. According to Trump, these satellites, large and small, will be used to defend the country when necessary.
To this end, the US government has also specially launched a "Star Shield" program. This so-called "Star Shield" program is actually an additional version of the Starlink program. In other words, Starlink is the main body of the entire system, and "Star Shield" is the device extension of the entire system.
Of course, because the "Star Shield program" is mainly used for military purposes, its customers are generally the Washington military, as well as organizations such as the military-industrial complex. After all, only they have such great strength to be able to load weapons on the star chain.
It is said that the "NATO eye", which was more popular some time ago, relies on the basic platform of Starlink to carry new artillery, drones and unmanned surface vehicles and other weapons.
When the NATO military connects these weapons to the Starlink system, it can carry out precision strikes against the Russian army. It can be said that in the eyes of military personnel, Starlink is no longer the original WiFi amplifier, but a weapon used to attack other countries.
Regarding the impact of the Starlink system on the continent, it cannot be ignored. For example, in July 2021, the continental space station detected the approach of a Starlink satellite. At that time, this incident caused an international uproar, and Sino-US relations almost reached a stalemate.
In addition, mainland people have repeatedly photographed Starlink in the domestic night sky, which causes people's concern is normal and worthy of vigilance.
Musk's original intention?
Of course, even though the U.S. military has repeatedly used Starlink for military purposes. But in the process of using Starlink, Musk is likely to manipulate it with a peaceful attitude. Even on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield, Musk still treats it as civilian equipment.
In June last year, for example, Russian hackers hacked into Ukraine's Internet system. In one operation, the entire Ukrainian Internet was paralyzed. In this case, SpaceX directly provided Ukraine with a large number of Starlink terminals to help Ukraine restore normal networks.
If this matter does not reflect Musk's position, then the Starlink closure incident in August last year can definitely reflect Musk's attitude towards Starlink. At that time, Ukraine was preparing to attack Crimea with unmanned boats, and because it needed to cross a sea area in the process, the Ukrainian military wanted to be supported by the Starlink system.
However, in the face of Ukraine's request, Musk directly refused. Not only did he not turn on the Starlink positioning system, but he also ordered engineers to turn off some of Starlink's equipment, which eventually led to the failure of the Ukrainian sneak attack.
It can be seen that in terms of Starlink's use, perhaps Musk did not intend to use it as a military in the first place. After all, in his vision, helping humans solve problems is the original intention.
Of course, the above speculations are only based on some of Musk's remarks and deeds. As for his true thoughts or purposes, it is unknown.
Throughout the history of mankind, many scientific and technological inventions were indeed designed to benefit all mankind from the beginning. For example, the invention of gunpowder was originally for engineering blasting and entertainment, but with the manipulation of certain interest groups, gunpowder eventually became a tool for killing.
Including the "father of the atomic bomb", after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, he also fell into remorse and guilt, he once said: "We did not think about war, we only thought about physics".
At first, he supported the development of nuclear weapons, fearing that Germany would first create them and cause more wars and deaths, simply thinking that nuclear weapons would never really be put into real combat, but only a deterrent. Isn't it sad that scientists sometimes find it difficult to control the use of technology?
Epilogue:
There is a good saying in the movie "Terminator": "Absolute technology means absolute destruction". Technology is good news if it is in the hands of sane people, but if it is controlled by a group of war-maniacs or sinister people, the world is not far from chaos.
It may take time to prove something about how Musk should be treated, but we must not forget that he is a businessman, and an American businessman.