Its Starlink devices — satellite internet the Ukrainian military relies onfor basic communication — failed, the firsttime it was knocked out completely for them since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Elon is also a huge contrarian who publicly supports Russia. Materially, I believe he does whatever the DOD tells him, but even just morale wise, it must be fun being a Ukrainian soldier and wondering if the guy providing you a satellite to connect to is providing your location to your enemy.
Also, Russia is allegedly using Starlink as well lol. https://dsm.forecastinternational.com/2024/05/15/potential-use-of-starlink-by-russia-a-background-and-the-implications/ forgive the AI ass article. The premise is funny
Honestly that's a good bridge not to cross. If shooting down satellites becomes an acceptable tactic of war, we're getting kessler syndrome real quick.
There's over 6000 Starlink satellites. And they're not geostationary, the kind used in one-way TV broadcasts, which orbit in a way where they appear in fixed positions in the sky. Starlink satellites move relatively quickly (usually between 90 and 95 minutes per orbit) so none of the satellites are dedicated to serving one particular area. The Russian military would have to launch hundreds, maybe thousands, of anti-satellite missiles to take out enough to leave Ukraine with a gap in coverage. Here's a visualization of what the Starlink network looks like right now.
They are in low earth orbit so they are over Ukraine for a very short period of time and there are hundreds of them. Probably not economical too try and take them down
Its Starlink devices — satellite internet the Ukrainian military relies on for basic communication — failed, the first time it was knocked out completely for them since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.Fuckin STarLiNk
"Still love the satellite though!"
Elon is also a huge contrarian who publicly supports Russia. Materially, I believe he does whatever the DOD tells him, but even just morale wise, it must be fun being a Ukrainian soldier and wondering if the guy providing you a satellite to connect to is providing your location to your enemy.
Also, Russia is allegedly using Starlink as well lol. https://dsm.forecastinternational.com/2024/05/15/potential-use-of-starlink-by-russia-a-background-and-the-implications/ forgive the AI ass article. The premise is funny
Kinda surprised that Russia didn't just shoot down Starlink satellites above Ukraine yet
Honestly that's a good bridge not to cross. If shooting down satellites becomes an acceptable tactic of war, we're getting kessler syndrome real quick.
There's over 6000 Starlink satellites. And they're not geostationary, the kind used in one-way TV broadcasts, which orbit in a way where they appear in fixed positions in the sky. Starlink satellites move relatively quickly (usually between 90 and 95 minutes per orbit) so none of the satellites are dedicated to serving one particular area. The Russian military would have to launch hundreds, maybe thousands, of anti-satellite missiles to take out enough to leave Ukraine with a gap in coverage. Here's a visualization of what the Starlink network looks like right now.
They are in low earth orbit so they are over Ukraine for a very short period of time and there are hundreds of them. Probably not economical too try and take them down
Yeah, probably a lot more effective and cheaper to improve jamming technologies instead.