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.
The issue is resources. Ukraine has been trying to develop it’s own satellite comms network but lacks the resources particularly in the middle of a war.
It’s absolutely insane to think 1 crazy wackadoodle has more resources at his fingertips than any government entity in the world. Really goes to show how badly they need go be taxed, hell were past tax it’s time to just take their fucking bag and redistribute it
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
good to see some actual data instead of hearsay and anecdotes
Interesting.
It sounds like Russian trolls in general are still getting online, like you’d expect, being spooks with government resources. But maybe Yandex was (tangentially?) involved in whatever astroturfing Musk was using.
Think we have to realistically recognize that not all the people advancing the agenda are bots or even Russian. Even without prodding, pretty much any perspective is held sincerely by someone or someones.
Besides, presumably the campaign would have the effect of converting at least some true believers.
Also, it’s a bit of a fantasy to assume that a few datacenters would suffice for fully dismantling these sorts of compaigns.
Interesting. Most interesting…
SpaceX employees seduced by Mars missions are now supporting authoritarianism, speech suppression, electoral rigging, violent invasions, and petrocracy.
Funnily enough, some years back a recruiter came knocking for me to interview for SpaceX. I was not especially interested (not due to any particular insight to the true Musk or anything, just didn’t feel like it), and the recruitor seemed sincerely baffled why I didn’t immediately fall to the floor in awe at the possibility.
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Yeah, at the time a huge factor was that I had like 4 years equivalent pay in bonuses that I would have had to forfeit, so a big hiring bonus would have been needed to offset that.
Plus I hate interviewing anyway.
Further I have had some experience with a “hot” employer and my experience was that they knew how coveted they are and generally had an attitude of “you should be grateful you get to work here at all” compared to a “wow, you actually are willing to work for us?” Attitude at a less well regarded employer. I have no insight on SpaceX, but direct or indirect experience with a handful of similarly “amazing” employers, so maybe SpaceX might have been different, but based on the musk treatment is twitter employees, I’m suspicious.
All this to be Elon’s serfs and concubines. What losers.
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
Elon is probably upset; when Ukraine destroyed that bot center they killed all his friends.
Billionaires have too much power. They need to be cut down to size.
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.
Sounds a lot like treason
Sounds a lot like something I saw coming from Proxima Centauri.
The moment the news broke a few years back that Ukraine relies on an Elon Musk product for their operations this was the exact future scenario I imagined.
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.
Starlink is for civilian use only.
the restrictions affect the military-grade Starshield service
Starshield leverages SpaceX’s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts. While Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield is designed for government use
Nowhere on that site says you’re allowed to weaponize the starlink/starshield
Starshield is literally the military service of Starlink.
Except access got turned back on for Ukraine and not Russia for a while, using a white list. It’s the same story unfolding again separately.
