"Sending More Satellites"... Musk Becomes the 'Troubleshooter' for Ukraine's Internet Outage [Reading Science]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] The Russia-Ukraine war has once again highlighted the importance of 'space internet.' Even if ground facilities are deliberately or accidentally destroyed, communication will not be paralyzed if ultra-high-speed internet service is possible through satellites. It has been confirmed that Starlink, the satellite space internet service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is the world's first, has stepped in to resolve the communication network blackout situation at the request of the Ukrainian government.

On the 26th, Musk issued a statement on Twitter saying, "Starlink service is currently active in Ukraine. More satellites are being deployed." This came as a response to a request for help from Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, who on the 24th asked via Twitter to resolve the internet blackout in Ukraine caused by the destruction of ground facilities by Russia.

Deputy Prime Minister Fedorov told Musk, "While you are trying to colonize Mars, Russia is trying to dominate Ukraine, and while your rockets successfully launch into space, Russia's rockets are attacking Ukrainian citizens," adding, "Please provide Starlink satellites to Ukraine and help the sane Russians rise up."

In this regard, Russia began its invasion of major Ukrainian cities including Kyiv on the 24th, causing severe damage to Ukraine's internet services, which are virtually paralyzed. The international internet service monitoring organization 'NetBlocks' stated on the same day, "Serious disruptions have occurred in Ukraine's internet service," and "As Russia's military operations proceed, disruptions have occurred in most Ukrainian cities including Kyiv."

SpaceX launches small satellites into low Earth orbit to provide high-speed wide-area internet communication. Unlike existing internet services concentrated in cities or residential areas, it can provide service anytime and anywhere, including remote areas, islands, and the middle of the sea. The fee is $99, and only a small satellite dish is needed.

SpaceX also provided free internet service by deploying satellites when the communication network was paralyzed during the Tonga underwater volcanic eruption last month. Since 2019, it has launched more than 2,000 Starlink satellites and plans to launch tens of thousands more in the future.

Besides SpaceX, other competitors such as Amazon, OneWeb, Telesat, and Boeing are either about to start services or are planning to do so. OneWeb has launched 358 satellites so far at an altitude of 1,200 km. OneWeb, in which Hanwha Group invested $300 million, plans to launch a total of 648 satellites by this year to start global space internet service. Amazon's Kuiper plans to first test-launch two satellites at an altitude of 590 km by the end of this year, then launch 3,236 low Earth orbit satellites over ten years. Canada's Telesat plans to start launching its first satellite within two years and deploy 298 low Earth orbit constellation satellites by 2024 to begin service.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.