Ready for Starlink service from the beginning of this year,
equipment delivered immediately to the request of the deputy prime minister
, handset and battery handed over twice so far
The biggest advantage of the low-orbit satellite internet composed of small clustered satellites, the so-called space internet, is that it can eliminate the blind spot of the internet. This is because thousands of satellites orbit the entire Earth, allowing data to be sent and received from any location.Elon Musk's SpaceX, a leader in this field, has recently demonstrated the true value of the space internet in Ukraine.SpaceX's space internet Starlink service was launched in a part of Ukraine where communication infrastructure was damaged by the Russian invasion.
How did SpaceX manage Starlink's internet network in Ukraine so quickly?In fact, since the beginning of this year, SpaceX has been preparing for Starlink service in Ukraine. This was to expand the target area for the public test service, which started in the fall of 2020.SpaceX President Gwynn Shotwell said in a discussion on the 7th, "We decided to expand the European service area on the 26th of last month before Mikhaylo Fyodorov, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, requested SpaceX to provide Starlink equipment through Twitter. I have been working for a month and a half to get the approval of the Urainian government,” he said.
The situation, which had not made much progress, was suddenly reversed with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the 26th, two days after the Russian invasion, Minister Fyodorov tweeted to Musk asking for help: "Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine while you are trying to establish a colony on Mars."
After Starlink's German office workers loaded Starlink's receiving equipment onto trucks, Tesla's European, Middle East and African (EMEA) office workers sent Tesla's "Powerwall", a home energy storage system. The power wall is for providing power to internet access equipment on the ground.Initially, Fedorov requested a generator, but Musk sent a power wall saying that an energy storage device without heat signals, no smoke and no fuel exhaustion problem would be more useful than a generator.Some of the powerwalls were from a Berlin plant that Tesla recently started operating. Tesla had previously provided this equipment to Puerto Rico, which suffered heavy damage to its electricity infrastructure during Hurricane Maria.
The risk of satellite signals being targeted by the enemy
However, experts say using satellite Internet service during wartime can be rather dangerous. This is because enemies can use satellite signals to determine their location."Starlink is useful for a while, but people installing Starlink plates in Ukraine should be aware that it's a potential target," said Nicholas Weaver, a security expert at the University of California, Berkeley, to Cienen.In fact, in 1996, it was reported that Russia used a satellite phone signal to locate Chechen President Johar Dudayev and then attacked him with a missile and killed him.Musk also tweeted: "Starlink is the only non-Russian communication system that works in parts of Ukraine, so it is highly likely to be targeted." He recommends turning on Starlink only when necessary and installing the antenna as far away from people as possible. He also recommends disguising the antenna by covering it with something to avoid detection.It is unknown how many Starlink terminals SpaceX has sent to Ukraine so far, and how the Ukrainian government is using them.About 2,090 Starlink satellites have been successfully launched since May 2019, and public testing services are being conducted in 28 countries as of March this year, starting with North America in the fall of 2020. Ukraine is an emergency relief service area, not a trial service.
