Russia Has Legal Standing To Knock Out Starlink Satellites

In a stark warning, a space law expert has cautioned that commercial satellites, like Elon Musk's Starlink, might become a potential military target, especially after Musk made the satellite constellation available to the Ukraine military to communicate and coordinate in the ongoing war against Russia last year, Sejal Sharma reported for Interesting Engineering.

It was highlighted that, just before the D-Day invasions, civilian infrastructure like bridges and railways were targeted due to their military significance. I Photo: Armyinform

Maj. Jeremy Grunert, an officer in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, said during the UK Space Conference in Belfast that companies needed to be careful about straying into conflicts and that they might become fair game in future conflicts if they contribute to one side, reported The Telegraph.

Musk was also warned by Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, that his interference in the Russia-Ukraine war “could lead to a nuclear response,” as had been written in Musk’s biography by Walter Isaacson.

While the Geneva Convention says that “Attacks may only be directed against military objectives. Attacks must not be directed against civilian objects,” in reference to international and non-international conflicts, Grunert says that the distinction is becoming increasingly unclear, with satellite companies potentially exposing themselves to cyber warfare or missile attacks.

Drawing parallels with historical precedents from World War II, Grunert highlighted that, just before the D-Day invasions, civilian infrastructure like bridges and railways were targeted due to their military significance.

Applying this principle to outer space, he argued that the use of civilian systems like Starlink for drone targeting might classify them as potential military targets.

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