Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks are quickly gaining traction with promises of impressively low latency, high bandwidth, and global reach. However, the research community knows relatively little about their operation and performance in practice. The obscurity is largely due to the high barrier of entry for measuring LEO networks, which requires deploying specialized hardware or recruiting large numbers of satellite Internet customers. In this paper, we introduce LEO HitchHiking, a new methodology that democratizes global visibility into LEO satellite networks. HitchHiking builds on the observation that Internet exposed services that use LEO Internet can reveal satellite network architecture and performance, without needing physical hardware. We evaluate HitchHiking against ground truth measurements and prior methods, showing that it provides more coverage, speed, and accuracy. With HitchHiking, we complete the largest study to date of Starlink network latency, measuring over 1,600 users across 13~countries. We uncover unexpected patterns in latency that surface how LEO routing is more complex than previously understood. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for future research on LEO networks.

翻译：低地球轨道（LEO）卫星网络凭借其超低延迟、高带宽和全球覆盖的承诺正迅速获得关注。然而，学术界对其实际运行与性能表现知之甚少。这种认知缺失主要源于LEO网络测量存在高门槛，需要部署专用硬件或招募大量卫星互联网用户。本文提出LEO HitchHiking方法——一种实现LEO卫星网络全球可见性民主化的新型方法论。该方法基于一个关键观察：使用LEO互联网的公开服务可揭示卫星网络架构与性能，而无需物理硬件部署。通过对比基准真值测量与既有方法，我们验证了HitchHiking在覆盖率、速度与精度方面的优势。借助该方法，我们完成了迄今最大规模的Starlink网络延迟研究，测量覆盖13个国家的1600余用户。研究揭示了延迟中的非预期模式，表明LEO路由的复杂性超乎既有认知。最后，我们为未来LEO网络研究提出建议。