Musk Says SpaceX Shedding $20 Million a Month on Starlink Web in Ukraine – #information
Musk stated in an Oct. 19 put up on Twitter that his rocket firm is dropping roughly $20 million a month from unpaid service and prices associated to safety measures for cyberwar protection however added that “we’ll preserve doing it (sigh).”
“No cash from DoD, however a number of different international locations, orgs & people are paying for ~11k/25k terminals,” Musk stated.
The Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday that it had not paid SpaceX something for offering Ukraine with the Starlink service, which has reportedly been an essential consider sustaining communications by the Ukrainian navy because it battles Russian forces.
Division of Protection (DoD) press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder instructed a press convention on Oct. 18 that the Pentagon had no touch upon Musk’s announcement that SpaceX would proceed to choose up the tab for Starlink in Ukraine.
“What a person firm could or could not do in any explicit nook of the world after all is incumbent on that firm to resolve and do,” Ryder stated.
Ryder added that the Pentagon “has not paid SpaceX any cash at this stage” however that discussions between the DoD and the corporate are ongoing concerning the “broader subject of offering satellite tv for pc communication” to Ukraine.
“Any kind of service that the DOD goes to be funding, there’s a course of by which we might undergo to have a look at contracting and acquisition necessities and the way we might do this,” Ryder stated, suggesting the thought of Pentagon funding for Starlink isn’t off the desk.
Requested about Musk’s comment that SpaceX had withdrawn its request to the Pentagon for funding for Starlink, Ryder referred the matter to the rocket firm however added that “we do proceed to have discussions with SpaceX officers and others, by way of offering satellite tv for pc communications to Ukraine.”
Musk has appealed for donations to assist foot the invoice for offering Ukraine with Starlink, which got here after he stated the corporate couldn’t preserve funding the service “indefinitely.”
The Tesla chief stated SpaceX can be rolling out a donation characteristic so peoeple might assist fund the availability of Starlink to locations in want.
SpaceX has thus far donated round 20,000 Starlink items to Ukraine, with Musk saying in a put up on Twitter that the transfer has price the rocket firm $80 million thus far and would climb to over $100 million by the tip of the 12 months.
Days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, Musk introduced that the Starlink satellite tv for pc web service was being supplied to Ukrainians.
Whereas Starlink delivered an info lifeline to darkened swaths of the war-torn nation, it additionally served as a hyperlink to allow Ukrainian navy drones to focus on Russian tanks and positions extra successfully.
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