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from the Please-read:-A-Personal-Appeal-from-Starlink-Founder-Elon-Musk dept.
SpaceX "will add a donate option to Starlink" for places in need:
The Pentagon has reportedly held talks with SpaceX about funding Starlink in Ukraine, though SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote in a tweet yesterday that "SpaceX has already withdrawn its request for funding." Musk also said he'll seek Starlink donations for places in need.
[...] Musk wrote in another tweet that "25,300 terminals were sent to Ukraine, but, at present, only 10,630 are paying for service." He also wrote that SpaceX "will add a donate option to Starlink" for those who "want to donate Starlinks to places in need."
That could include Ukraine and other countries. Musk's tweet about adding a donation option came in response to Ham Serunjogi, co-founder and CEO of a company that runs a service for sending and receiving money in Africa. "I'd be glad to commit $$ to donate Starlink to schools & hospitals in Uganda," Serunjogi wrote.
[...] Musk seemed to backtrack on Saturday, albeit grudgingly. "The hell with it... even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free," he wrote.
[...] The Pentagon said last week that it's considering other satellite options, too. "There are certainly other Satcom capabilities that exist out there," Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said, according to the Financial Times. "There's not just SpaceX; there are other entities that we can certainly partner with when it comes to providing Ukraine with what they need on the battlefield."
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday October 29 2022, @12:21AM (1 child)
If Putin does any of the two, there's the asymmetric cost of the strike vs the cost of replacing those satellites.
I don't think Russia is able to maintain destruction capabilities at the rate Musk (paid by the govt this time) is able to replace them for "cheaps".
Even more, replace with versions improved with blackjack an hoo... sorry, rad hardened and with cameras - the Starlink altitude is low enough not to need special optics, sorta high-end web cams in a constellation above - I don't think Putin will like what he gets from the bargain.
Note: high altitude nukes deny comms in the kHz to MHz range for some days (and may plug that ozone hole over Antarctica), Starlink works in GHz band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 2) by legont on Saturday October 29 2022, @07:22PM
It looks like you did not read the link. High altitude nuke will fry all unhardened satellites on orbits Starlink operates. I am sure it's satellites are not hardened.
True, Musk will be able to replace them, but during that time Ukraine will have no communication abilities. Currently the success of Ukrainian army is mostly built on data that AWACS collect and move to artillery over Starlink.
Note that just before the attack in the spring Russians destroyed all - also American provided - military communications in Ukraine by simple rogue modem update.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.