Two satellites from Russiaβs Rassvet broadband constellation, the countryβs answer to SpaceXβs Starlink, are expected to fall back into the atmosphere and burn up within the next day or two after failing to raise their orbits, Harvard-Smithsonian astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell said, while most of the other Rassvet-3 satellites have now settled into [β¦]Elon Musk accused Ukraine of violating Starlink terms of service by using it for lethal drone strikes.
Musk said Ukraine used the Starlink commercial service for offensive drone strikes. Musk's comment on Saturday came after SpaceX imposed a restriction preventing Ukraine from using the satellite technology on drones flying above certain speeds.
One current and one former Ukraine official denied Musk's accusation and said previous limits imposed by SpaceX already prevented Ukraine's military from using Starlink in the way Musk described. Ukraine officials have accused Musk of throttling their use of Starshield, the military variant of Starlink that Ukraine has access to through a deal with the US government.
Β© Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images
Ukraine says Starlink service has been restored after days of disruption. The incident highlights why enterprises need tested, independent backup systems.
The post Starlink Restrictions Explained: What Enterprises Can Learn appeared first on TechRepublic.
Ukraine says Starlink service has been restored after days of disruption. The incident highlights why enterprises need tested, independent backup systems.
The post Starlink Restrictions Explained: What Enterprises Can Learn appeared first on TechRepublic.
Ukraine has rejected Elon Muskβs claim that its military broke Starlinkβs terms of service by using the civilian satellite network for offensive drone strikes, with a presidential adviser saying that restrictions SpaceX placed on the service in February make such use physically impossible. Musk made the accusation on X on Oct. 24, the same day [β¦]Elon Muskβs Starlink satellite service has played a pivotal role in supporting Ukraineβs successful resistance to Russiaβs full-scale invasion for years. But with Starlink having become increasingly unreliable due to Muskβs political inclinations and the latest surprise disruptions to service in Ukraine, the Ukrainians and Europe as a whole are now facing urgent questions about how to move forward without it.
As the worldβs largest communications satellite network, Starlink can typically support high-speed Internet and data streams for any user or vehicle equipped with a relatively compact Starlink terminal. This has enabled Ukraine to maintain vital communications for both civilian purposes and military operationsβand has also expanded the Ukrainian militaryβs capability to remotely control or provide guidance to drones used in both air defense against Russian attacks and for striking back at Russian targets.
βStarlink currently offers some of the best satellite coverage available, with virtually no competitors when you consider the combination of cost, availability, and ease of use,β according to the head of hardware R&D at the Ukrainian defense company BlueBird Tech, who provided comments to Ars anonymously for security reasons. βIn practical terms, the main limitation is the need to position the antenna so it can receive signals from the satellites.β
Β© Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A Wall Street Journal report said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk ordered the Starlink throttling that blindsided Ukraine's air assault forcesΒ last week, despite Musk's claim that all decisions on the military version of Starlink are made by the US military and President Trump.
Trump denied ordering the restrictions. While Musk may have spoken to Trump and administration officials before the decision, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Musk made the final call. The decision came after both Musk and Trump criticized Ukraine for attacking Russian diesel refineries.
"Elon Musk ordered the slowdown of a military-grade version of Starlink relied on by Ukraine, a decision that sparked panic in Kyiv and confusion inside the Trump administration," the WSJ wrote, citing unnamed US officials and people familiar with the matter. The report said that "Musk capped the speeds at which Ukrainian hardware could stay connected to the satellite-based network... rendering some offensive drones and interceptor drones virtually useless."
Β© Getty Images | Bloomberg
In its current iteration, SpaceX is largely a data company seeking to provide enormous amounts of compute for artificial intelligence. During an earnings call on Tuesday afternoon, company officials spent much of their time discussing ambitious plans to roll out up to 10 GW of compute in 2027βon the ground.
Gone are the days of aspirational talk about sending humans to Mars and settling the red planet. Now it is almost all about artificial intelligence and the data needed to support its expansion. However, the company's long-term ambitions to provide data services from space, initially with the Starlink Internet constellation and eventually through the "Starmind" data center constellation, still rely on an actual rocket.
That would be the Starship vehicle, and during the earnings call, SpaceX founder Elon Musk and the company's president and chief operating officer, Gwynne Shotwell, provided new performance targets for the vehicle.
Β© SpaceX
Ukrainian troops have been caught off guard by restrictions on Elon Muskβs Starlink satellite Internet systems that disrupted frontline operations, while Kyiv received no warning from its partners of a Russian missile attack on its energy facilities for the second day running, according to Ukrainian officials.
Starlink terminals used by Ukrainian drone units began experiencing signal failures at speeds above 160 km/h, disrupting several missions early on Wednesday morning, according to military personnel and senior Ukrainian officials.
βLogistics at the frontline and middle strikes are badly limited,β one senior official familiar with the situation on the front told the FT. Ukraineβs middle strikes target Russian military supply lines and logistics. The limitations came with βno warning, just in the middle of the night,β the official said.
Β© NurPhoto / Contributor
A future iPhone could connect to SpaceXβs Starlink network as satellite-based mobile connectivity continues to advance.
The post A Future iPhone Could Run On SpaceX As Starlink Mobile Upgrades Gather Pace first appeared on Redmond Pie.
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