Billionaire Elon Musk announced that SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service is now available in Ukraine. His company is shipping additional terminals to the country, where Russia’s invasion has severely disrupted access to the internet, global media report.
He was replying to a tweet from Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, who had appealed for help:
@elonmusk while you are trying to colonize Mars — Russia is trying to take over Ukraine! While your rockets succeed in landing from space, Russian rockets are attacking Ukrainian civilians!
Musk responded:
Starlink service is active in Ukraine. More terminals are on the way
Internet access is severely affected
Russia’s invasion has heavily impacted internet connectivity across Ukraine, particularly in the eastern and southern regions where fighting is most intense.
Deploying satellite technology is costly, but its benefits often outweigh the expense. Satellites can provide internet access to people in remote or hard-to-reach areas where cell towers and fiber-optic cables cannot be installed or maintained.
When natural disasters or other disruptions damage ground-based communications infrastructure, satellite systems can serve as a vital backup to restore connectivity quickly.
What is Starlink?
Starlink is a satellite internet constellation designed to deliver high-speed broadband across the globe and bring reliable connectivity to millions of people who currently lack consistent internet access.
By using advanced satellites in low Earth orbit, Starlink supports video calls, online gaming, streaming, and other high-bandwidth activities that traditional satellite internet has struggled with in the past. Users can generally expect download speeds between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s and latencies as low as 20 ms in many locations.
A constellation of satellites
To provide consistent coverage, the deployment requires a large number of satellites operating in low Earth orbit. For SpaceX, this orbit is roughly 340 miles above Earth.
Last month Musk said SpaceX had 1,469 active satellites, with another 272 planned to reach orbit soon.
In January, Starlink was used in Tonga, a Pacific island nation, to reconnect remote villages after a submarine volcanic eruption. CNN reported that the eruption was likely the largest volcanic event in the world in more than three decades.
The world awaits talks this morning
Russian President Vladimir Putin put Russia’s deterrent forces, including nuclear forces, on high alert, while talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations were expected to take place this morning.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, internet access remains generally available in Ukraine, though there have been intermittent power outages.