Ukraine's Deputy PM thanks Elon Musk for sending Starlink satellites
Ukraine’s Deputy PM thanks Elon Musk for sending Starlink satellites to guarantee internet access across war-torn country
- Tesla and SpaceX founder responded to a request for help providing Internet service to Ukrainians within hours Saturday
- The country’s vice PM Myhailo Fedorov on Monday thanked the tech visionary for activating his Starlink satellites and ensuring Ukrainians remain connected
- The system was reportedly providing Ukrainians with Internet at speeds of 100 Mbps, drawing praise from locals
- It is enough bandwidth to stream movies, play games, and work from home
- It’s been five days since Putin ordered Russian troops to enter Ukraine, which has reported 352 civilian deaths since the start of the invasion
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister is sharing his appreciation for billionaire Elon Musk, who activated Starlink satellites for the war-torn country after its Internet service was disrupted by relentless Russian invaders.
Musk, the world’s richest man, on Saturday answered the pleas of vice PM and Digital Transformation Minister Myhailo Fedorov, who had implored him to help the embattled nation with Internet access.
After the Tesla and SpaceX founder came through, Fedorov tweeted: ‘Starlink here – thanks, @elonmusk’ alongside a picture of a truck filled with equipment.
Musk promptly responded, tweeting: ‘My pleasure.’
Eastern European news station Nexta reported that the satellites were already providing service at speeds of 100 Mbps, which is enough bandwidth to stream movies, play games, and work from home.
Ukraine’s vice PM Myhailo Fedorov took to Twitter on Monday to thank Elon Musk for supply the country with Starlink satellites
Ukraine’s vice VP Mykhailo Fedorov
Although Fedorov was among the more prominent figures to recognize Musk’s assistance, everyday Ukrainians also turned to Twitter to express their gratitude.
‘Success! SpaceX Starlink is working in Kyiv, Ukraine,’ tweeted Kyiv-based engineer Oleg Kutkov. ‘The Dishy was placed just outside my window, even without adjustments. Thanks, @SpaceX team, for your support,’
Kutkov tweeted that the Internet at one point reached speeds of 200 Mbps.
As Internet service became spotty following days of rocket attacks by Russia, Ukrainian officials sought ways to ensure locals remained connected.
It’s been five days since Putin ordered Russian troops to enter Ukraine, which has reported 352 civilian deaths since the start of the invasion, including 14 children.
Russia has for days been attempting to takeover Kyiv, but faced fierce resistance from brave Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who used guns and Molotov cocktails to defend their capital city.
A refugee stands by a fire after crossing the Ukrainian-Polish border on February 28, 2022 as Russia carried out its fifth consecutive day of unprovoked attacks on Ukraine
A woman is pictured in front of a damaged building in Donetsk, Ukraine on February 28, 2022
They saw it as a way to combat Russian propaganda and share atrocities being carried out by troops on the orders of Vladimir Putin.
Fedorov put out a request for help last Saturday, tweeting: ‘@elonmusk, 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.’
Within 11 hours, Musk announced that Starlink – a space-based system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world – was up and running in Ukraine.
Musk’s response to Fedorov’s request was prompt; the Starlink stations were up and running within 11 hours
The tech visionary, who founded Tesla and SpaceX, told the Ukrainian official that he was happy to help
SpaceX Starlink works by creating a mesh network in orbit, that users within the range of these satellites can connect to using a specialist dish and terminal
STARLINK: SATELLITE INTERNET FROM SPACEX
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched nearly 2,000 of its ‘Starlink’ space internet satellites into orbit.
They form a constellation designed to provide low-cost broadband internet service from low Earth orbit.
Its goal is to beam superfast internet into your home from space.
There are an estimated 145,000 users users around the world, and that is before it available worldwide.
SpaceX says putting a ‘constellation’ of satellites in low earth orbit would provide high-speed, cable-like internet all over the world.
The company has previously filed plans with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch 4,425 satellites into orbit above the Earth and could have 42,000.
‘Once fully deployed, the SpaceX system will pass over virtually all parts of the Earth’s surface and therefore, in principle, have the ability to provide ubiquitous global service,’ the firm said.
‘Every point on the Earth’s surface will see, at all times, a SpaceX satellite.’
While Ukraine continues to ensure attacks from the air and assaults from the ground by Russian forced, the county has also been subjected to cyber attacks.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, Cabinet of Ministers, and Parliament website were all appeared offline for several hours last Wednesday following a cyberattack which also affected some of the banks in the country.
Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX has close to 2,000 Starlink satellites orbiting Earth at an altitude of 340 miles.
Earlier this month, Musk’s satellite venture launched a free high-speed internet service to connect remote villages in Tonga that were cut off since a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami in January.
The satellites allow for large amounts of information to be beamed quickly to any point on Earth without the need for fiber-optic cables.
‘In 2022 modern technologies are one of the best response to tanks, rockets and missiles. I’ve addressed to the biggest tech giants to support the sanctions for Russian Federation. We asked them to help us stop this outrageous aggression on our people!’ Fedorov wrote in another Twitter posting on Saturday.
As of the February 26, a total of 2,142 Starlink satellites have been launched since the first couple in February 2018, although many of this total have failed or been decommissioned in space.
SpaceX has even grander plans for its Starlink project, and has already requested authorization for a second-generation megaconstellation, made up of 30,000 satellites.
Musk, 50, also offered to come to the rescue Sunday after Putin’s space chief Dimitry Rogozin warned on Twitter that Russian technology was needed to keep the International Space Station in orbit and prevent it from crashing into the US or Europe.
‘If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the United States and Europe?’ Rogozin tweeted last Friday.
Musk said his company SpaceX would rescue the ISS if necessary.
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