On Saturday, Elon Musk announced that SpaceX’s satellite internet company, Starlink, is now providing internet service in Ukraine, following power outages caused by Russian invasion that disrupted services in the Eastern European country.
The development came after Ukraine’s vice prime minister asked Musk on Twitter to help provide his country with the internet as Russian attacks intensified.
“While you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand,” Mykhailo Fedorov, who doubles as Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation, tweeted at Musk.
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Within hours, the SpaceX CEO responded that “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine” he said in addition, “More terminals en route.”
Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 26, 2022
Musk has been shooting hundreds of satellites to orbit with the aim off providing reliable internet to billions of people across the globe via Starlink’s high-speed broadband. SpaceX has launched nearly 2,000 satellites so far, as the idea requires swarms of satellites operating in low-Earth orbit – about 340 miles high, in SpaceX’s case – to provide continuous coverage.
Ukraine has greatly depended on the internet to keep its citizens and the rest of the world informed. Ukrainian ministers have been tweeting since the conflict began, and the government also uses Telegram to disseminate information to its people.
In another tweet, Fedrov thanked Ukrainian Ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova for his help in facilitating the Starlink internet service. “Special thanks to … Markarova for swift decisions related to authorization and certification that allowed us to activate the Starlink in Ukraine,” he tweeted. This suggests that bureaucracy bottlenecks were bypassed to allow Musk to activate the satellite service. Information on Starlink’s website shows that Ukraine is slated for satellite internet in 2023.
This isn’t the first time Starlink is being used to provide emergency satellite service. Recently in Tonga, South Pacific Ocean, SpaceX’s Starlink was deployed to provide internet service to connect remote villages following underwater volcano eruption in the region in January, the company said.
Musk provided the satellite internet service as countries around the world rally around Ukraine amidst intense conflict with Russia that has claimed many lives. Outnumbered, Ukraine has been appealing for help from everyone who cares in its bid to resist the Russian aggression.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is baring it all loose on Ukraine, with cyberattacks as part of his war plan. Ukrainians have been reported to be switching to Signal, an encrypted instant messaging app, suggesting that the country is warily looking for internet service it can trust. In addition, internet towers are also targets of the Russians. Internet services are reportedly not available in cities hardest hit by the war.
However, the move will face yet another challenge. Musk said that more terminals are on the way. But to successfully activate internet service, end users will need to import satellite dishes for signal. Given that it’s a war time, it is not clear how Musk will provide the dishes.
However, the two incidents of emergency internet services powered by Starlink, has run a significant ad for SpaceX. Musk’s Starlink is competing with Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos’ Kuiper, the satellite internet arm of his Blue Origin space company.
Musk has been pushing to activate Starlink to offer global internet service, but the deadline for the launch previously slated for last year has passed. The company is yet to announce a new date for the launch, stoking the complaints of many subscribers who said they are yet to receive their satellite dishes long after they subscribed.