Washington: Elon musk Said on Friday that SpaceX would not be able to pay for it starlink satellite internet in Ukraine indefinitely, while the US military confirmed it was in communication with the billionaire’s company about funding for the major network.
The discussion comes as Musk was embroiled in a public dispute with Ukrainian leaders who were angered by his controversial plan to defuse the conflict, which included accepting Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
According to an updated figure provided by Musk last week, Starlink, a constellation of more than 3,000 small satellites in low Earth orbit, is critical to Ukraine’s communications as it fights against an invasion of Russia, with SpaceX flying about 25,000 ground terminals have been donated.
In a series of tweets, a report by the world’s richest man appeared to be confirmed CNN saying that he wrote to pentagon warned that his financial contributions would be exhausted, and that the military would need to submit the bill.
He tweeted, “SpaceX asking not to cover past expenses, but cannot fund existing systems indefinitely *and* may send several thousand more terminals whose data is up to 100x more than normal homes Is.”
“This is inappropriate.”
Musk said the operation has already cost SpaceX $80 million and is projected to exceed $100 million by the end of the year.
But CNN said data from SpaceX shared with the Pentagon showed that about 85 percent of the first 20,000 terminals in Ukraine were paid for by countries such as the United States, Poland or other entities, which account for about 30 percent of Internet connectivity. also paid for. ,
Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Friday that the US Defense Department is in contact with Musk over funding issues.
“We can confirm that the Department has received correspondence from SpaceX regarding the funding of their satellite communications product in Ukraine. We are in communication with SpaceX regarding this and other topics,” Singh said in a statement. ”
It had previously told reporters that there are possible alternatives to Starlink, but declined to give specifics.
Referring to satellite communications, Singh said, “Of course there are other satcom capabilities. I’m not going to show my hand right now what they are or who we are talking to.”
In an overnight reply on Twitter on Friday, Musk elaborated on the logistics of the operation.
“In addition to terminals, we have to build, launch, maintain and refuel satellites and ground stations for access to the Internet through gateways and pay telcos,” he said.
“We’ve also had to defend against cyberattacks and jams, which are getting harder. The burn is approaching ~$20M/month.”
Musk has recently been in contention with Ukrainian officials, including the president Volodymyr Zelensky After suggesting a peace deal that included a controversial referendum on Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine – an idea welcomed by Moscow.
Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany, Andrey Melnik, called Musk “nonsense” on Twitter.
In a tweet on Friday that included the shrug emoji, Musk said: “We are following his recommendation.”
Singh declined to comment on whether Musk had decided to end the Starlink service in response to the ambassador.s commentWas saying it was a question for SpaceX.
Musk later confirmed that Starlink remained operational on the frontline, tweeting: “Starlink is the only com system still operating on the battlefield – all others are dead.”
The US Agency for International Development also said in a statement Friday evening that “to the best of our knowledge, SpaceX has not withdrawn service to Ukraine’s civilian government agencies and critical infrastructure operators.”
The Financial Times previously reported that the Starlink outage had hit Ukrainian forces on the front lines, hindering their ability to recapture Russian-controlled areas in the country’s east, but said the situation had since improved. .
Mykhaylos, a senior aide to the President of Ukraine podolyakiacknowledged the importance of Starlink in a tweet on Friday.
“Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of the war,” Podolik wrote, adding that Ukraine “will find a solution to make #Starlink work.”
Elon Musk says can’t fund Starlink in Ukraine indefinitely – Times of India
The discussion comes as Musk was embroiled in a public dispute with Ukrainian leaders who were angered by his controversial plan to defuse the conflict, which included accepting Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
According to an updated figure provided by Musk last week, Starlink, a constellation of more than 3,000 small satellites in low Earth orbit, is critical to Ukraine’s communications as it fights against an invasion of Russia, with SpaceX flying about 25,000 ground terminals have been donated.
In a series of tweets, a report by the world’s richest man appeared to be confirmed CNN saying that he wrote to pentagon warned that his financial contributions would be exhausted, and that the military would need to submit the bill.
He tweeted, “SpaceX asking not to cover past expenses, but cannot fund existing systems indefinitely *and* may send several thousand more terminals whose data is up to 100x more than normal homes Is.”
“This is inappropriate.”
Musk said the operation has already cost SpaceX $80 million and is projected to exceed $100 million by the end of the year.
But CNN said data from SpaceX shared with the Pentagon showed that about 85 percent of the first 20,000 terminals in Ukraine were paid for by countries such as the United States, Poland or other entities, which account for about 30 percent of Internet connectivity. also paid for. ,
Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Friday that the US Defense Department is in contact with Musk over funding issues.
“We can confirm that the Department has received correspondence from SpaceX regarding the funding of their satellite communications product in Ukraine. We are in communication with SpaceX regarding this and other topics,” Singh said in a statement. ”
It had previously told reporters that there are possible alternatives to Starlink, but declined to give specifics.
Referring to satellite communications, Singh said, “Of course there are other satcom capabilities. I’m not going to show my hand right now what they are or who we are talking to.”
In an overnight reply on Twitter on Friday, Musk elaborated on the logistics of the operation.
“In addition to terminals, we have to build, launch, maintain and refuel satellites and ground stations for access to the Internet through gateways and pay telcos,” he said.
“We’ve also had to defend against cyberattacks and jams, which are getting harder. The burn is approaching ~$20M/month.”
Musk has recently been in contention with Ukrainian officials, including the president Volodymyr Zelensky After suggesting a peace deal that included a controversial referendum on Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine – an idea welcomed by Moscow.
Kyiv’s ambassador to Germany, Andrey Melnik, called Musk “nonsense” on Twitter.
In a tweet on Friday that included the shrug emoji, Musk said: “We are following his recommendation.”
Singh declined to comment on whether Musk had decided to end the Starlink service in response to the ambassador.s commentWas saying it was a question for SpaceX.
Musk later confirmed that Starlink remained operational on the frontline, tweeting: “Starlink is the only com system still operating on the battlefield – all others are dead.”
The US Agency for International Development also said in a statement Friday evening that “to the best of our knowledge, SpaceX has not withdrawn service to Ukraine’s civilian government agencies and critical infrastructure operators.”
The Financial Times previously reported that the Starlink outage had hit Ukrainian forces on the front lines, hindering their ability to recapture Russian-controlled areas in the country’s east, but said the situation had since improved. .
Mykhaylos, a senior aide to the President of Ukraine podolyakiacknowledged the importance of Starlink in a tweet on Friday.
“Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of the war,” Podolik wrote, adding that Ukraine “will find a solution to make #Starlink work.”