Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

If China shoots down a SpaceX satellite, that is an act of war against the United States. China wouldn’t risk it. This is a great opportunity to break the great firewall and finally give the Chinese people access to unfiltered information.


Which might be seen as a provocation by the Chinese Government of the US to destabilize it's citizens.


Not illegal under international law. We did this all the time to the Soviets. This is what Voice of America does today.


China absolutely will. And if SpaceX were to beam internet over North Korea, then NK will shoot it down too.


Your comment implies they could successfully destroy said satellite. It might be a better distraction to tell NK there's one overhead, "leak" it's orbit, position, etc. and watch the fireworks month over month.


I know NK has made some major advancements in their missile capabilities but shooting down a satellite is pretty advanced stuff... any indications that they're capable of doing what you claim they would do?


> If China shoots down a SpaceX satellite, that is an act of war against the United States.

These are not government satellites and china owns the airwaves over their nation. I highly doubt the US government would retaliate whatsoever against China if they shot down a satellite that illegally interacted with their airspace.

> China wouldn’t risk it. This is a great opportunity to break the great firewall and finally give the Chinese people access to unfiltered information.

Take this with a grain of salt since this is mostly based on what I have heard hearsay, but they can jam the signals and/or monitor who transmits back and go after the citizens using said signal (and china is not a country where you want to poke the government). I doubt this will have any effect on the great firewall.


Airspace extends 12 miles. Satellites are governed by space law. It would be the same as sinking a commercial American ship in international waters.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: