How Elon Musk's Starlink Became Invaluable To Ukraine's War Effort
In late February, as Russia's invasion disrupted Ukraine's Internet services, the country's deputy prime minister, Mykhaylo Fedorov, took to Twitter to ask U.S. billionaire Elon Musk to activate Starlink, SpaceX's giant and ever-growing broadband constellation, for use.
Musk quickly tweeted his response: "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route."
Many in the West believed that Russian forces would easily overrun the country when President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. Instead, Ukrainian soldiers and civilians organized a frequently improvised and thus far effective resistance to counter Moscow's forces.
One such improvisation has been the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), commonly called drones, such as this modified DJI Matrice 300. Connected via a Starlink satellite, it allows Ukrainian artillery teams to target Russian positions by dropping anti-tank munitions, often in silence and at night.
Members of Ukraine's 72nd Black Zaporozhians mobile aerial reconnaissance group pose with their DJI Matrice 300 "bomber."
Starlink satellites pass over Tres Piedras, New Mexico.
Starlink was originally envisioned to offer satellite Internet connectivity to places with a lack of telecommunications infrastructure, such as at sea, in isolated locations far from cities, or in places suffering from governmental restrictions on Internet access. But Starlink has also become a lifeline as Ukraine battles Moscow's forces.
With SpaceX footing the bill, there has been a lot of back-and-forth on Twitter and in the media over SpaceX's commitment to Ukraine and the company's willingness to continue to pay for the service.
A Starlink terminal is seen at a mobile passport application station in Ukraine's Kharkiv region on September 29.
As Russian missile strikes, drone attacks, and shelling of energy infrastructure have left more and more Ukrainian villages, towns, and cities without power, Starlink terminals are vital to Ukraine's ability to connect to the outside world.
Puppies rest next to a Starlink terminal near the recently liberated town of Lyman.
The system is not without its limitations, such as being geolocated while in operation, a fact that can lead to targeted attacks on its users. Shortly after the first terminals were delivered in early March, Musk tweeted: "Turn on Starlink only when needed and place the antenna as far away from people as possible."
Ukrainian soldiers train with a DJI Mavic 3 drone.
Moscow's forces are attempting to obstruct Internet connectivity from space by using jammers. However, according to SpaceX, a software upgrade has been released for Starlink that can avoid jamming transmitters and save power usage.
On October 14, CNN reported that SpaceX had asked the U.S. military to cover the costs on behalf of the Ukrainian government. Musk tweeted on October 14 that SpaceX could not fund the network "indefinitely."
Mykhaylo Podolyak, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, said that Ukraine would somehow find a solution to ensure that the Starlink Internet service continued. Podolyak wrote on Twitter on October 14 that, like it or not, Musk “helped us survive the most critical moments of war.”
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites lifts off from Cape Canaveral in Florida in January.
On October 15, Musk publicly backed off from his request for help with funding, saying: "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."
A time-lapse overflight of Starlink 5 satellites near Berlin on April 20.
On October 17, Musk took to Twitter again, announcing, "Ok, we will add a donate option to Starlink." SpaceX is losing approximately $20 million a month from unpaid service and costs related to security measures for cyberwar defense, but "we'll keep doing it (sigh)," Musk tweeted.
Nevertheless, media reports say both the U.S. military and the European Union are considering paying for Starlink to help support Kyiv.