Elon Musk warns SpaceX's Starlink service may be 'targeted' in Ukraine

Elon Musk warns there is a high chance that Russia could ‘target’ SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service in Ukraine

  • Fears Russia may ‘target’ SpaceX Starlink satellite broadband service in Ukraine
  • That was the warning from the firm’s billionaire entrepreneur founder Elon Musk
  • He asked users to ‘place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection’
  • Ukraine said this week it received donated Starlink satellite internet terminals

Elon Musk has warned there is a high chance SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service in Ukraine could be ‘targeted’ by Russia. 

The billionaire entrepreneur voiced his concerns just days after an internet security researcher cautioned that devices used for satellite communications could become ‘beacons’ that Russia may target for airstrikes.

‘Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution,’ Musk tweeted.

He asked users to ‘turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna away as far away from people as possible’ and ‘place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection.’

Elon Musk has warned there is a high chance SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service in Ukraine could be ‘targeted’ by Russia 

‘Important warning: Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution,’ Musk tweeted

On Saturday, Musk said Starlink was activated in Ukraine and SpaceX was sending more terminals to the country, responding to a tweet by a Ukraine government official who asked Musk to provide the embattled country with Starlink stations.

Ukraine said earlier this week that it had received donated Starlink satellite internet terminals.

However, internet security researcher John Scott-Railton, from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab project, warned that these could become Russian targets.

‘If #Putin controls the air above #Ukraine, users’ uplink transmissions become beacons … for airstrikes,’ he tweeted.

‘#Russia has decades of experience hitting people by targeting their satellite communications.’

Ukraine Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov thanked Starlink for ‘keeping our cities connected and emergency services saving lives!’ 

Ukraine’s vice PM Mykhailo Fedorov took to Twitter on Monday to thank Elon Musk for supplying the country with Starlink satellites 

Musk asked users to ‘turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna away as far away from people as possible’ and ‘place light camouflage over antenna to avoid visual detection’ 

But he said the country needed generators to keep the satellite broadband service online because of Russian attacks on infrastructure.

In response, Musk said SpaceX was updating software to reduce peak power consumption, so Starlink can be powered from car cigarette lighters.

‘Mobile roaming enabled, so phased array antenna can maintain signal while on moving vehicle,’ he said.

Tim Farrar, a consultant in satellite communications, said Starlink antennas, which look like home satellite television dishes, are not designed to be used while in motion, and it was not clear what Musk meant by the tweet.

Russia and Ukraine have agreed on the need to set up humanitarian corridors and a possible ceasefire around them for fleeing civilians, both sides said after talks on Thursday.

It is their first sign of progress on any issue since the invasion, which Moscow calls a ‘special operation.’

ELON MUSK’S SPACEX SET TO BRING BROADBAND INTERNET TO THE WORLD WITH ITS STARLINK CONSTELLATION OF SATELLITES

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched more than 1,800 of its ‘Starlink’ space internet satellites into orbit.

They form a constellation designed to provide low-cost broadband internet service from low Earth orbit.

The constellation, informally known as Starlink, is under development at SpaceX’s facilities in Redmond, Washington.

Its goal is to beam superfast internet into your home from space.

While satellite internet has been around for a while, it has suffered from high latency and unreliable connections.

Starlink is different. SpaceX says putting a ‘constellation’ of satellites in low earth orbit would provide high-speed, cable-like internet all over the world.

The billionaire’s company wants to create the global system to help it generate more cash.

Musk has previously said the venture could give three billion people who currently do not have access to the internet a cheap way of getting online.

It could also help fund a future city on Mars.

Helping humanity reach the red planet is one of Musk’s long-stated aims and was what inspired him to start SpaceX.

The company has previously filed plans with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to launch 4,425 satellites into orbit above the Earth — three times as many that are currently in operation.

‘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.’

The network will provide internet access to the US and the rest of the world, it added.

It is expected to take more than five years and $9.8 billion (£7.1bn) of investment, although satellite internet has proved an expensive market in the past and analysts expect the final bill will be higher.

Musk compared the project to ‘rebuilding the internet in space’, as it would reduce reliance on the existing network of undersea fibre-optic cables which criss-cross the planet.

In the US, the FCC welcomed the scheme as a way to provide internet connections to more people.

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