On October 14, 2026, SpaceX imposed an unannounced speed limit on military-grade Starshield terminals used by Ukrainian forces, automatically cutting internet connectivity for terminals moving faster than 100 mph (160 km/h) and disrupting several high-speed military drone operations.
No one like Elon Musk should ever have the power to do this.
I believe this is a result of private infastructure. If they had their own internet satelites, they wouldn’t be at the mercy of some dickhead who has something to gain by manipulating their access on a whim.
Take it from someone from the one country that developed then abandoned indigenous space launch capability; space infrastructure is insanely expensive.
Black Arrow was actually good though, and Britain was mad to cancel it. Also cheap for its day, the government was spaffing money on far worse at the time.
I got annoyed by all the still existent butwhataboutistanists and haveyetnotseenanyrealtruthbutbelieveinbbcofallsources bros on lemmy, so I analyzed twitter posts of the big talking head himself:
Note the log scale. Now let’s ponder the ramifications of the coincidence of big talking head losing fame in the exact same day as missiles strike random data center.
Edit: more info: https://lemmy.world/post/53119699
Bro
Thats fucking wild
Interesting. Most interesting…
Elon is probably upset; when Ukraine destroyed that bot center they killed all his friends.
His engagement is at an all time low.
If Ukraine had any sense they would try to be as little as possible dependent on the Trumps ilk and I think they have. Message was clear from the start.
What gives you the impression that they don’t try? That they don’t launch hundreds of satellites themselves?
What?
Your comment gives me the impression that you think Ukraine is too dependent on Starlink and not making an effort to change that. And my question is why you might think that.
Well you are reading it wrong
If its Starshield it was probably ordered by Trump. The DoD controls that, and its unlikely SpaceX would alter it without their request.
Imagine how the DoD would feel if SpaceX unilaterally altered DoD service. The DoD needs to believe, even if its not true, that they have operational control.
Edit: Musk has now chimed in saying the government is in control of starshield not SpaceX as expected.
Edit: lol and Trump of course now denying doing anything. Can’t wait to hear from someone else what happened. Germany is demanding answers now too.
He did this before, in 2022. The state department and intelligence community freaked out. I guess that was just advertising and the opposition has all been turned over.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink_in_the_Russo-Ukrainian_war
No, that’s called the consequences of your actions. We allowed Trump to get elected and Trump is friends with Elon and Putin. This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone.
Not sure what you mean. Reply OP was pointing out that this isn’t surprising IMO.
That’s sad they still trusted elmo and should have known that he would try to benefit putin. It’s wrong how it is, but he is known untrustworthy.
The advantage was undeniable. Trust != use and have contingencies ready.
That’s an old fucking news. Starlink is for civilian use only.
