🇨🇳China has notified the International Telecommunication Union of plans to launch up to 203,000 satellites into orbit by the mid-2030s. This is many times more than any existing or planned constellation. For comparison, Starlink currently has about 9,600 satellites, while Amazon Kuiper plans to have about 3,200.

The key point here is not so much the physical launch of such a large number of devices, but the regulatory and frequency battle for orbit, which could escalate into a real confrontation.

Firstly, the ITU system operates on the principle of "who applied first, gets priority". Even if the satellites exist only on paper, the declared positions and radio frequencies are reserved. This means that other operators, including SpaceX and Amazon, are obliged to take these "reserved" parameters into account when designing their systems.

Secondly, this creates so-called regulatory interference. When designing and expanding Western systems, the US will be forced to reduce the power of transmitters to avoid overlapping with the declared Chinese ranges, change orbital planes, and complicate network management algorithms.

Even if some of the Chinese satellites are never launched, the mere fact of their registration already restricts competitors.

Thirdly, it's about strategic control over low Earth orbit. Mega-constellations are not just about the internet, but also military communications, reconnaissance, navigation, drone control, and the resilience of military infrastructure in the event of war.

In fact, China is operating on the principle of "occupying space in advance" in order to later dictate the terms. This is cheaper and more efficient than catching up with an already deployed infrastructure.

It's also worth examining the scale. Launching 200,000 satellites is a colossal industrial task. Even Starlink, with all the production capacity of SpaceX, launches a maximum of 1,500–2,000 satellites per year. To actually deploy 200,000, China will have to maintain a launch rate at a level that humanity has never achieved before.

@Slavyangrad

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi: 'Between now and the next session, we can begin to draft the initial documents needed to pave way for an agreement. Naturally, once things start being drafted—the process will slow down significantly'

@Middle_East_Spectator

Even the most powerful army in the world might sometimes receive such a slap that it won't be able to get up — Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei

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—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 Vice President J.D. Vance: 'While in some ways the negotiations went well, it was very clear that there are some red lines the President has set that Iran is still not willing to acknowledge and work through. The President reserves the right [for military action] if diplomacy reaches a dead end'

@Middle_East_Spectator

Peeling Back the US Information Operation in Iran. https://sonar21.com/peeling-back-the-us-information-operation-in-iran/

People need to understand that Iran's only way of pressuring America in case of war, is by dragging the entire region into it and making the Americans unable to deal with the consequences. Every single option will no longer be held back, all axes will be activated.

If America attacks, assuming it's a large-scale attack at toppling the regime, Iran will unleash everything it has—and the Middle East will explode, from Iran to Jordan, from Yemen to Kuwait—the ENTIRE region will be ablaze.

This has the possibility of becoming America's second Vietnam. They're entering into something of which they cannot possibly fathom the implications for decades to come.

If a large-scale war happens, even if the Iranian government doesn't fall, it will be a historic moment far more instrumental than the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and thousands of Americans will die.

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: Over the past 12 hours, massive movements of aerial assets towards the Middle East has continued

There have not been this many U.S. aircraft on their way or stationed in the Middle East since Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

@Middle_East_Spectator