Starlink and our national security

 

The following link extols the wonder of Starlink:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONrMP6LWWAw

In view of some unauthorised users of Starlink who we recently found in Manipur, I wanted to find potentially how vulnerable our national security would be with the deployment of Starlink in our country. I did some open source research and found that Starlink indeed has security concerns for our nation.

First a diagram of how Starlinks becomes the pipe between the user and a website:

My research started with this question:

Can a signal of SpaceX's Starlink be jammed? And then followed the questions on a nation's vulnerability when using Starlink.

Answer to this question follows the primary question of what is Starlink?

Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite internet system that uses thousands of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to provide high-speed internet across the globe, especially in remote and rural areas.

Can it be Jammed?

Technically, yes — but it’s challenging. 

Why is jamming of Starlink signal difficult:

Frequency hopping: Starlink uses advanced frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) techniques.

Beamforming: It uses phased-array antennas that direct beams narrowly, making broad jamming harder.

LEO orbit: The satellites move quickly (\~7.5 km/s), so jamming one is only temporarily effective.

Encryption: Signals are encrypted, so even if intercepted, content is secure.

Massive redundancy: With thousands of satellites and a mesh network, losing a few links doesn’t shut down the network.

Real-world Example

In 2022, Ukraine’s military credited Starlink for maintaining communications in war zones. Russia attempted to jam Starlink signals, but Elon Musk tweeted that SpaceX updated the firmware quickly to counter those efforts, calling it “the most advanced cyber defense operations.”

Military Implications

Governments (including the U.S. Department of Defense and adversaries) are very interested in Starlink’s resilience and vulnerability:

The U.S. sees it as a strategic asset.

Opponents see it as a high-value target.

Summary:

Starlink can be jammed, but:

It's resilient due to its design.

Jamming is usually localized and temporary.

SpaceX has proven it can counter jamming attempts quickly.

How low is low orbit? How far into the sky does a nation's airspace extend?

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is typically defined as:

Altitude Between 160 km and 2,000 km above Earth's surface.

LEO :    160–2,000 km  - Starlink (\~550 km), ISS (\~400 km)         

MEO:      2,000–35,786 km GPS satellites (\~20,000 km)                      

GEO:      ~35,786 km     Weather & comm satellites (stationary over Earth) 

LEO satellites move very fast (about 7.5 km/s) and orbit Earth roughly every 90 minutes.

How far into the sky does a nation's airspace extend?

That’s a legal and geopolitical gray area.

Recognized National Airspace:

A nation's sovereign airspace is generally accepted to extend up to the Kármán line:

100 km above sea level.

This is considered the boundary between atmosphere and outer space

Above 100 km

Outer space is considered international territory — no nation owns it, just like the high seas.

This is governed by the Outer Space Treaty (1967), signed by over 100 countries:

  No national sovereignty over space or celestial bodies.

  Space is free for exploration and use by all.

Summary

| Region       | Sovereignty           | Notes                                                                

| 0–100 km     | National airspace | Controlled by the country. Violations can trigger military response. 

| Above 100 km | Outer space       | No national claims allowed; governed by treaties.                    |

Implication for things like Starlink:

Starlink satellites at ~550 km do not violate any country's airspace, because they're far above the 100 km Kármán line.

However, ground stations and user terminals on national soil are subject to local laws and permissions.

With Starlinks LEO satellites, shouldn't nation's airspace limit be revised upwardly? I mean, why would we willfully allow enemy satellites to spy on my own land?

Should airspace limits be raised due to LEO satellites?

Possibly, but legally and practically very hard.

Why are countries tolerating satellites overhead?

Cold War-era treaties and mutual benefit from space use.

Can countries prevent overhead surveillance from space?

Not directly, unless the object enters their sovereign airspace (<100 km).

Is the system under strain?

Yes — mega-constellations like Starlink are exposing cracks in the current legal regime.

How do you deny or limit Starlink's operations on ground? Also, can a device that is using Starlink be tracked on ground?

Technical Countermeasures:

RF Jamming: Transmit powerful noise in Starlink’s Ku-band (10.7–12.7 GHz) to disrupt signals. Effective locally; hard to scale without affecting other systems.

Geofencing: Starlink disables terminals that move into forbidden regions (via GPS). Already implemented by SpaceX.

MAC/IP Tracking: Monitor traffic for Starlink terminal signatures. Doable with advanced surveillance, but requires network access.

Cyber Attacks: Try to hijack, spoof, or brick terminals or satellites. Risky; violates international norms

Can a Starlink Device Be Tracked on the Ground?

Radio direction finding (RDF) can detect and locate Starlink signals.

If the signal is intercepted, authorities can triangulate the user's position.

EM signature databases can help spot unauthorized dishes.

Network forensics can trace Starlink traffic even if encrypted.

Where does the data of browsing through Starlink reside? Is it with the ISPs?

Your browsing data routes through SpaceX’s own ISP-like network — not a local ISP in your country.

Data may transit through ground stations in other countries, based on satellite coverage.

Encrypted traffic (HTTPS) is safe from inspection, but metadata is likely logged.

SpaceX can see and store limited user data, and may be legally obligated to cooperate with the U.S. government. (This is one of the potential vulnerability of our nation's security when Starlink is used in our country.)

What happens if the satellite inserts malicious or inadvertent data while sending to ground, or after receiving from ground station? The message itself is encrypted we know, but can't encrypted data be corrupeted?

Starlink’s satellites and ground stations cannot read or alter your encrypted data.

Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption provides end-to-end confidentiality and integrity from your browser to the server.

Corrupted data (from radiation, hardware issues, or attack) is automatically rejected via cryptographic checks.

Is it possible have a ground station outside our country and still communicate with a website via Starlink surreptitiously, since we are saying that Starlink is itself an ISP?

Can Starlink route through a foreign ground station? Yes, it often does.

Can this bypass national internet infrastructure? Yes.

Is this technically hard? No — it’s part of Starlink’s design.

This is the crux of our nation's vulnerability against Starlink. 

Is this legally or politically problematic? Often yes — especially without national licenses.

Here is a diagram how a Ground Station outside our nation could be used by a user to bypass our national scrutiny:

The ground station shown above could be used from outside our country. It could be used by a surreptitious user bypassing scrutiny by our national security systems,

Love dies slowly

 

I saw his tears when we parted,

Heard his laughter when we started,

And many sighs in between.

When did it all stop?

The days of heart on rampage?

Nights of yearning and star gaze?

One day at a time, I guess,

One night at a time,

One rush hour at a time.

The heart hardens slowly,

The arc lights blind slowly,

Love dies slowly.

This is goodbye, I know

 

This is goodbye, I know,

And, I'll heal in time,

And this wound that festers now

I'll feel no pain in time.

Still, when the wind kisses my face,

I'll feel your tresses on my face,

When the moon floats in a different sky,

I'll find your phantom embrace.

Where is Tuvalu?

 

I am ashamed to say that I didn't know where Tuvalu was. This blog got 7 hits from that country. I'm so delighted. It is so humbling:

It turns out it is an island in the Pacific, South East of Tonga. Tonga, some of us of course know because of the book, 'Mutiny on the Bounty' and also because cadets from Tonga sometimes get trained at National Defence Academy, India. 

How little of the world do I know!

Would obviously like to know who pinged my blog from Tuvalu.

A Giant fell on the road

 

A giant fell on the road,

Folks were inconvenienced:

Traffic was blocked,

Wires snapped,

Power was shut.

No one died, though,

Except for the tree of course.

In time,

The fallen was sawed off,

Carried away in a truck.

Traffic resumed,

Power was restored.

All forgot the giant

That gave shade

For seventy years. 

Shadow of the bridge

 

When he fell from the bridge

That went to the other side,

He latched on to the shadow

Of the bridge

To cross over to the other side neatly.

But shadows being shadows,

They crumpled,

Only some ripples remained

On the water,

And, he and his shadow,

Disappeared without a trace.

Then the shadow of the bridge,

Settled down

To receive more falls.

For a few grams less

 

Today I made a major discovery. The discovery was actually serendipitous. The discovery was on the scale of the Rontgen rays discovery. By mistake, I used my toothpaste instead of my shaving cream to foam my stubble of a day. (I know I'm getting old.) And what I discovered was that my shaving was none the worse for it, only better, if anything. It left behind a tingling feeling, and therefore I didn't need any after-shave lotion as well.

Now, think of how this will impact the world, especially the fauji world. A soldier would not have to put in his 08 pack a tube of shaving cream. (Ladies are, of course, in any case excused). That's almost a hundred grams less on his backpack. When you are on a Long Range Patrol (LRP), every gram adds to your fatigue factor. Out on camps in training institutions, cadets would have to carry an item less in their 08 packs. What would he not do for a few grams less!

Of course, this has to be scientifically tested for compatibility with the skin before becoming a military doctrine, and perhaps later, even a civilian doctrine.