SpaceX stops Ukraine from using Starlink service to control drones

[midian182]

What just happened? The close relationship between SpaceX and Ukraine could be strained after the company limited the country's ability to use the Starlink satellite service for offensive military purposes. The move follows reports that Ukraine has been using Starlink to control drones.

SpaceX has supplied over 25,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine and maintained them since the war began, helping keep the nation's critical infrastructure and its citizens online as Russia continues its assault.

But Ukraine is said to have been utilizing Starlink in its offensive push against the Russian military, including using it to target enemies with drones, a violation of SpaceX policies.

Speaking at a conference in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday (via Reuters), SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell said Starlink was never meant to be weaponized.

"However, Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement," she said, referring to reports that Starlink had been used to control Ukraine's drones. "There are things that we can do to limit their ability to do that [controlling the drones]," she said, "There are things that we can do, and have done."

A year of 🇺🇦 resistance & companies have to decide:
-Either they are on the side of 🇺🇦 & the right to freedom, and don't seek ways to do harm.
-Or they are on RF's side & its "right" to kill & seize territories.#SpaceX (Starlink) & Mrs. #Shotwell should choose a specific option

— Ми...айло По'оляк (@Podolyak_M) February 9, 2023

Shotwell never revealed what actions SpaceX had taken to stop Ukraine from using Starlink for military attacks. She emphasized that the service could be used for military communications, but it was never intended for offensive purposes.

Back in October, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the company could not fund Starlink in Ukraine indefinitely, though other governments share the costs of equipment and maintenance. The company estimated that costs could reach almost $380 million over the following 12 months, and it wanted the US government to pay for additional terminals and ongoing service costs.

SpaceX is not asking to recoup past expenses, but also cannot fund the existing system indefinitely *and* send several thousand more terminals that have data usage up to 100X greater than typical households. This is unreasonable.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2022

It was only a few days before Musk backtracked and promised that SpaceX would fund Ukraine "indefinitely," though the billionaire recently tweeted that every possible course of action it takes with Ukraine will lead to criticism, "Damned if you do, damned if you don't," he wrote.

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

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2022

"SpaceX Starlink has become the connectivity backbone of Ukraine all the way up to the front lines. This is the damned if you do part," Musk wrote in a separate tweet. "However, we are not allowing Starlink to be used for long-range drone strikes. This is the damned if you don't part."

Russia warned last year that SpaceX satellites could become a "legitimate target." The country has attempted to jam Starlink signals in Ukraine, which Musk said has led to the company improving the security of the service's software.

Musk was previously involved in a war of words with the former head of Russian space agency Roscosmos, leading to a tweet from the Tesla boss about dying in mysterious circumstances.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/97552-spacex-stops-ukraine-using-starlink-service-control-drones.html

 

[Alfatawi Mendel]

Starlink would never have been given Government approval if it didn't have military capability as it's cornerstone.
The military/Industrial complex writ large.

 

[Nobina]

I'd also want to not be involved in a war and help people get killed.

 

[mcnabney]

Starlink equipment is fairly large, requires a stablish platform, and wants more power than you would expect. Only the largest of drones could be outfitted. Perhaps the floating drones could though, but the flying ones are more easily served by local radio since the battery range and radio frequency range would be similar. Starlink allows very far remote control and that is unlikely to be a need.

 

[psycros]

Starlink equipment is fairly large, requires a stablish platform, and wants more power than you would expect. Only the largest of drones could be outfitted. Perhaps the floating drones could though, but the flying ones are more easily served by local radio since the battery range and radio frequency range would be similar. Starlink allows very far remote control and that is unlikely to be a need.

Knowing Ukraine, they probably managed to trim some weight off the transponders and maybe even modify the system to use a bit less power. They've done this kind of thing with other gear. That said, I can fully understand Musk's reluctance to make his still-not-profitable satellites a target of Russian jamming. But Ukraine is correct - the free world needs to make a choice and stick with it. We either keep tolerating Russian aggression or we stand as one and draw a line in the sand. Ukraine should have been added to NATO five years ago. Screw Russia, China and the rest of the totalitarian twats. Same goes for the fascist wannabes like Biden. Their not going to do a nuclear first strike on anyone because they don't want to rule over a glass desert. Take MAD off the table and the reality is that the west has more than enough military, diplomatic and economic power to secure vital national interests. Nobody could stand up to the US and its allies in a conventional or unconventional war - Uncle Sam can do dirty tricks as well as anyone if the stakes are high enough. And their already pretty high right now, and getting higher by the day.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Ukraine is a leech.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1623653239861256193

 

[Endymio]

Ukraine is correct - the free world needs to make a choice

Zelensky banned opposition political parties, banned all non state-run media, banned the nation's largest church for "disloyalty", and has jailed thousands for publicly criticizing his policies. Every male in the country age 17 to 60 is forcibly conscripted, and those men trying to flee the country are arrested at the border. That's a rather funny kind of 'freedom'.

Take MAD off the table

If only we could. There's a reason Russia kept more nuclear weapons than the rest of the world combined. They also have 2,000+ tactical nukes, of which the US currently has zero (Obama destroyed the last of our tactical arsenal years ago). If they deploy a few of those in Ukraine, we have no reasonable response ... and the fact that our unreasonable responses will destroy Russia just as thoroughly as Russia will destroy us isn't much comfort.

 

[dangh]

Zelensky banned opposition political parties, banned all non state-run media, banned the nation's largest church for "disloyalty", and has jailed thousands for publicly criticizing his policies. Every male in the country age 17 to 60 is forcibly conscripted, and those men trying to flee the country are arrested at the border. That's a rather funny kind of 'freedom'.

The country is currently pillaged and violated by the barbarians - you do not allow enemy propaganda accessing your citizens freely. Church wasn't be banned if not for numerous cases of spying for the aggressor and the head of the church being one of strongest Puttler supporter.

Not all opposition parties were banned, only those with clear links to Puttler or those promoting country being ruled by Russia, as it happen in Belarus. Parties which do not support a country with Ukraine is at war, nor sponsored by Russian oligarchs are not banned.

Conscription is normal thing in time of war. What do you expect, someone comes close to your capital city while pillaging, raping and murdering your citizens and you are saying: 'sorry, only professional soldiers fight, if they die, you just lie on floor and wait for bullet'...

Man, this is war, where one country wants do destroy another and make sure they will do as said with some puppet at helm. You seen how freedom looks like in puttler ruSSisa. Usually it is a frreedom to choose what window you will 'accidentally' fall off. In time of war nation have to unify against an aggressor and decissions have to be made to save people and the country, without listening to enemy agents.

 

[p51d007]

WW1...the "kings/queens" war...the globalist back then wanted to do away with all of the "royals", hince ww1.
WW2 was due to what happened in WW1.
We are almost one year into the beginnings of WW3, but people won't wake up and see it until it is too late, because 90% of the world isn't involved directly...YET.

 

[Shaitan]

I'd also want to not be involved in a war and help people get killed.

Yeah, and I'd love to not be one of the countries USSR so kindly "took care of" for dozens of year after WW2. Unfortunately, good commies are dead commies. And we need to fight the evil, be it Nazi, Communism or Russia.

 

[Shaitan]

Zelensky banned opposition political parties, banned all non state-run media, banned the nation's largest church for "disloyalty", and has jailed thousands for publicly criticizing his policies. Every male in the country age 17 to 60 is forcibly conscripted, and those men trying to flee the country are arrested at the border. That's a rather funny kind of 'freedom'.


If only we could. There's a reason Russia kept more nuclear weapons than the rest of the world combined. They also have 2,000+ tactical nukes, of which the US currently has zero (Obama destroyed the last of our tactical arsenal years ago). If they deploy a few of those in Ukraine, we have no reasonable response ... and the fact that our unreasonable responses will destroy Russia just as thoroughly as Russia will destroy us isn't much comfort.

of course he did. Do you know what UK, US and the free countries did back in WW2?
- curfew
- censorship
- banning Nazi-tied sympathizers
- war-oriented economy directed at producing goods for the army
- propaganda in favor of the free world.
You want freedom in Ukraine? Ask your paying overlord to kick his troops out of Ukraine, back to Orcish land Ruzzia.

 

[wiyosaya]

of course he did. Do you know what UK, US and the free countries did back in WW2?
- curfew
- censorship
- banning Nazi-tied sympathizers
- war-oriented economy directed at producing goods for the army
- propaganda in favor of the free world.
You want freedom in Ukraine? Ask your paying overlord to kick his troops out of Ukraine, back to Orcish land Ruzzia.

The US wasn't an angel to its own citizens, even https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation

From 1942 to 1945, it was the policy of the U.S. government that people of Japanese descent, including U.S. citizens, would be incarcerated in isolated camps. Enacted in reaction to the Pearl Harbor attacks and the ensuing war, the incarceration of Japanese Americans is considered one of the most atrocious violations of American civil rights in the 20th century.

It's easy to say the same thing about this - "That's a funny kind of freedom."

 

[wiyosaya]

WW1...the "kings/queens" war...the globalist back then wanted to do away with all of the "royals", hince ww1.
WW2 was due to what happened in WW1.
We are almost one year into the beginnings of WW3, but people won't wake up and see it until it is too late, because 90% of the world isn't involved directly...YET.

Maybe, maybe not.

I'm no politician nor am I an expert on international relations, however, I have to say that I don't see an option other than to push back against Russia's efforts. I think that if the world just let them trod over anything they wish, they would not stop with the Ukraine. Remember how some dirt bag Russian said something along the lines of "The US will be next" last summer, or there about? At the time, the pushback against Russia was so effective, that whoever that was that said that must have realized that he was talking out his a$$.

 

[Nobina]

Yeah, and I'd love to not be one of the countries USSR so kindly "took care of" for dozens of year after WW2. Unfortunately, good commies are dead commies. And we need to fight the evil, be it Nazi, Communism or Russia.

NPC take. Go, fight then.

 

[kimo1]

If you're a patriot of the west, the east is your enemy. If you're a patriot of the east, the west is your enemy. If you're neither, you are an enemy to both. This is how we divide.
But what if? The war cannot be won because there is no enemy? What if this is just a part of the great show, to help get lots of people killed intentionally, yet again?

 

[Uncle Al]

Can't blame them for trying!

 

[Bobbydpue]

I'd also want to not be involved in a war and help people get killed.

Helping or not people are dying. What's wrong with helping people who are simply defending themselves?

If you're a patriot of the west, the east is your enemy. If you're a patriot of the east, the west is your enemy. If you're neither, you are an enemy to both. This is how we divide.
But what if? The war cannot be won because there is no enemy? What if this is just a part of the great show, to help get lots of people killed intentionally, yet again?

That isn't true. The lines between west and east aren't so black and white. A country's physical location has nothing to do with this war. This is all about Russia wanting to take control of their previous territories even though they are destroying everything they want to take control of. If a very large country starts a war with a much smaller country that was just minding its own business clearly the large country is the enemy. It has everything to with actions and not location.

 

[Bobbydpue]

The US wasn't an angel to its own citizens, even https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/japanese-american-relocation

It's easy to say the same thing about this - "That's a funny kind of freedom."

This isn't about "you can't say anything if you've ever done anything wrong". Ukraine never crossed the Russian border and attacked Russia, but Russia has been fighting Ukraine since before 2014.

The US isn't innocent; however, Russian Government savagery is beyond many places on earth for causing human suffering.

The Japanese relocation was terrible, but it wasn't anything like sending hundreds of thousands (not an exaggeration) of its own citizens on a way one trip to work camps where they would likely freeze or starve to death. The hundreds of thousands that died building the road of bones is only a portion of the deaths inflicted on people by Russian gulags. There are plenty of other crimes against humanity on both sides, but Russia seems to look at human suffering as a competition.

Zelensky banned opposition political parties, banned all non state-run media, banned the nation's largest church for "disloyalty", and has jailed thousands for publicly criticizing his policies. Every male in the country age 17 to 60 is forcibly conscripted, and those men trying to flee the country are arrested at the border. That's a rather funny kind of 'freedom'.


If only we could. There's a reason Russia kept more nuclear weapons than the rest of the world combined. They also have 2,000+ tactical nukes, of which the US currently has zero (Obama destroyed the last of our tactical arsenal years ago). If they deploy a few of those in Ukraine, we have no reasonable response ... and the fact that our unreasonable responses will destroy Russia just as thoroughly as Russia will destroy us isn't much comfort.

"Eleven Ukrainian political parties have been suspended because of their links with Russia" It was 11 out of over 120 political parties that were suspended. "All" isn't even close. And they weren't banned they were suspended. The fact they were allowed before should say something about the lies being spread by the pro-Russian media.

Zelensky banned pro-Russian media only and not all non-state run media. And again, they were allowed to operate in the country before Russia officially invaded. The entire reason is to stop Russian misinformation, which you've just believed without doing any checking.

I don't see why that's a point you are trying to argue. Russia implemented the draft to send untrained bodies into an unnecessary war to fight for land the Russian military is ruining while Ukraine banned able bodied men who are already required to serve in the military from running away from their homeland during an invasion. What Ukraine did isn't wrong or close to the same thing that Russia is doing. If the US was invaded, I would want the same rules put into place.

Ukraine is where the majority of the USSR's nuclear weapons were stored. After the fall of the USSR Russia made an agreement with Ukraine to take all of those nuclear weapons in trade for guaranteed protections.

"The Obama administration has unilaterally cut the number of nuclear weapons in the Pentagon’s nuclear weapons stockpile to 4,018 warheads, a reduction of 553 warheads since September 2015." That's not "Obama destroyed all tactical nuclear weapons". Furthermore, the nuclear weapons dismantled were weapons that were retired before 2009. The US still has 200 tactical nuclear weapons, and thousands of strategic nuclear weapons. Why does it matter? If Russia attacked anyone with any nuclear weapon there would be an immediate and massive response from many of the western powers and that response isn't unreasonable. As soon as Russia attacks anyone with any nuclear weapon that would let the world know they are prepared to use more of them. Russia would have to be stopped before they could launch more and if the world just laid down and did whatever Russia wanted, we'd all be in gulags.

 

[NikoBB]

Conscription is normal thing in time of war. What do you expect, someone comes close to your capital city while pillaging, raping and murdering your citizens and you are saying: 'sorry, only professional soldiers fight, if they die, you just lie on floor and wait for bullet'...

In Ukraine, men under 60 are not allowed to leave the country by force under the guise of a certain "debt" that they have never taken on. The kleptocrats of every country cover themselves with a false sense of "patriotism" and "homeland" as an excuse to kill millions of people for their base goals, power and money.
The Western media have been silent for a year now that men in Ukraine are used as slaves, in violation of all human rights according to the UN Declaration of Human Rights. This is 100% not free country, where the people of power are forcibly told where to be and ordered to die for something that is not interesting and unimportant to them. People try to escape by paying bribes, but they are caught.

If these people who are trying to escape no longer consider Ukraine their home, where did they get a certain "debt" from?

I know that the "free" West, which defends a "free" Ukraine, has no answer to this.

Putin and his clique, together with the supporting part of the population, are scoundrels, murderers and aggressors. But there is no need to tell adult people stories about the defense of their country, if those who are fleeing no longer consider it as such.

If a person runs away, this is his right, as a free person. But then, when the war is over and if there is someone who wins it for Ukraine, those who fled will be rightly deprived of their rights if they decide to return. This is a truly free country. If you defended it voluntarily (and this is the key thing), then you have no rights in it either. But the right to leave it is inviolable for the free world. And if the war is lost, then this is a punishment for the kleptocratic authorities of Ukraine, who apparently were not honest enough with people earlier before the war (even after what happened in 2014) and did not contribute to the voluntary awakening of a sense of "duty" and "patriotism" in them, male citizens.

In the US, most of the Democrats, according to polls, would have immediately fled the country in the event of mobilization. This is a well-known survey. I wonder if they would sing if mobilization was announced in the USA and they were forcibly sent to the slaughter, for the most part because of the showdown of the highest kleptocrats?

Read the author of "War and Peace" Leo Tolstoy - back in 1915 he wrote a devastating article about scoundrels in power before the start of the Russo-Japanese War, which was banned in Tsarist Russia and published in England. Nothing has changed in the world since then. The authorities of all countries hide behind democratic principles, but as soon as they get into a conflict of personal interests, they immediately forget about human rights and freedoms. Exactly the same as they forgot about the rights and freedoms with the “covid” scam since 2020. And now they don’t know how to evade punishment in all countries. And they divert the attention of the population by an artificially created war in Ukraine. What will these bastards in power come up with next. In the silence of them offices?

 

[NikoBB]

Musk and his company have been behaving immorally for a long time. They had previously allowed networks to fail at the height of the war, costing the lives of hundreds of disenfranchised Ukrainians at the front due to the loss of communication and interaction. But is this news for today? Given that the same Musk, who was crying that supporting networks in Ukraine would cost him 800 million in 2023, spent 44 billion for Twitter ...

The Western media have been silent for a year now that men in Ukraine are used as usual slaves.

 

[toooooot]

Yeah, and I'd love to not be one of the countries USSR so kindly "took care of" for dozens of year after WW2. Unfortunately, good commies are dead commies. And we need to fight the evil, be it Nazi, Communism or Russia.

Funny thing about evil people/regimes, they get excited when nobody retaliates. You could see this time and time again in history if you read it. Or you can do a quick review of Russia's expansion in Georgia and Ukraine in the last 20 years.
You can never let evil go unpunished. It will grow like the most deadly cancer that Russia currently is. Just look at them, they make shitty animated movies about nuclear missiles hitting Florida, they threaten to destroy European countries if anybody intervenes in their current war while their soldiers kill tied people in the back of the head and rape children. There is only one way to solve this plague, and it is for all civilized nations to stand together why confiscating every penny Russian warlords stripped of their own slaves.
I hope every man and woman of the free nations realizes this sooner than later. These murderers will not stopped until the guns are aiming at them.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Funny thing about evil people/regimes, they get excited when nobody retaliates. You could see this time and time again in history if you read it. Or you can do a quick review of Russia's expansion in Georgia and Ukraine in the last 20 years.
You can never let evil go unpunished. It will grow like the most deadly cancer that Russia currently is. Just look at them, they make shitty animated movies about nuclear missiles hitting Florida, they threaten to destroy European countries if anybody intervenes in their current war while their soldiers kill tied people in the back of the head and rape children. There is only one way to solve this plague, and it is for all civilized nations to stand together why confiscating every penny Russian warlords stripped of their own slaves.
I hope every man and woman of the free nations realizes this sooner than later. These murderers will not stopped until the guns are aiming at them.

In order to stop Russian expansion you not only need a real military but soldiers with the will to fight. That leaves out pretty much all western European nations other than maybe the Brits. Manbuns and lattes aren't going to cut it.

 

[scavengerspc]

In order to stop Russian expansion you not only need a real military but soldiers with the will to fight. That leaves out pretty much all western European nations other than maybe the Brits. Manbuns and lattes aren't going to cut it.

Ukraine military kills Russians.
Russia mostly ignores Ukraine military and targets civilians. So Ukraine kills more Russians.

Seems to me those "Manbuns and lattes" ARE getting it done.
They are smacking the Russians around like the frightened cowards they are.
And add to that, Putin is TERRIBLE at this.

 

[AlaskaGuy]

Ukraine military kills Russians.
Russia mostly ignores Ukraine military and targets civilians. So Ukraine kills more Russians.

Seems to me those "Manbuns and lattes" ARE getting it done.
They are smacking the Russians around like the frightened cowards they are.
And add to that, Putin is TERRIBLE at this.

1. Are you saying Ukrainians are similar to Western Europeans?
Answer: Ukrainians and Western Europeans are as different as night and day.

2. Is Ukraine winning the war?
Answer: No it is not.

 

[Sir Sparkles]

Companies don't have to make a choice between Russia and Ukraine, they are companies, not countries.

Even if they were countries they still don't have to make a choice.

False narrative.