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| The promised Starlink stations have arrived in Ukraine |
SpaceX has sent a truckload of Starlink websites to Ukraine, according to a photo posted to Twitter by the country's deputy prime minister asking CEO Elon Musk for help during the Russian invasion.
Mikhailo Fedorov posted a tweet targeting Musk, urging him to provide Starlink Radio to Ukraine. In response, Musk said the country has launched satellite internet and more terminals are on the way to Ukraine.
As fighting continues in the Ukrainian city, there are concerns that cyber attacks could target critical internet infrastructure, making it difficult for people to receive news or communicate. Those concerns increased after some partial failures during the past week.
In order to use the Starlink system, consumers must have a user terminal. These dishes can transmit and receive signals from any active Starlink satellite in the sky.
The stations were shipped to Ukraine, although their number is not clear in the photos. Using satellite internet requires a lot of space infrastructure as well as a lot of equipment on the ground.
In order to provide Internet access, satellites must be able to connect to terrestrial gateways and fixed ground stations connected to existing fiber-optic cables.
There are always technical problems or the possibility of cyber-attacks on the Internet via satellites like Starlink. Another satellite internet service provider - Viasat - said it is facing disruptions in the country due to online activity.
Ukraine orders Starlink radio from Elon Musk
Starlink is SpaceX's ambitious space internet initiative to launch tens of thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit to provide high-speed internet coverage on Earth.
To date, the company has nearly 2,000 satellites in orbit. SpaceX has said in a live broadcast since its January launch that it has 145,000 active users.
In a February tweet, Musk noted that SpaceX has more than 250,000 user stations in production.
Although the station arrives in Ukraine. However, it is unclear how it was used or distributed, although a Twitter user posted a screenshot claiming to be using the service in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
The antenna must have clear access to the sky, which can be difficult in a war zone. Also, the SpaceX portal is not explicit public information. But online investigators have found some, including a site in Poland on the border with Ukraine.
Although many customers have experienced delays in their Starlink orders over the past year. But some customers say they are willing to wait longer if it helps the Ukrainians.