this post was submitted on 27 Oct 2024
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[–] NoiseColor@startrek.website 16 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I bet they have something on him.

[–] DogPeePoo@lemm.ee 15 points 2 weeks ago

Underage something footage

[–] ptfrd@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

If so, why would SpaceX have so rapidly & aggressively moved to restore Ukraine's communications capabilities in the early days and weeks of the current war, and maintained them ever since?

[–] fox2263@lemmy.world 18 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Likely the US government said to do so or else they can kiss their funding and licenses goodbye.

[–] NoiseColor@startrek.website 5 points 2 weeks ago

100% this was the case.

[–] ptfrd@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago

Plausible. It's not how I imagine them engaging with their defence contractors but I don't actually have a clue how it works. One supporting point might be if there were any other companies treated similarly, like if Lockheed Martin was ordered to immediately ramp up production of relevant types of military hardware, and told that the details (contracts / payment / etc.) would be sorted out later.

An opposing point would be the fact that the US and its allies knew an invasion was likely well in advance. Yet the initial Starlink 'roll out' seemed pretty ad hoc, with SpaceX organizing its own logistics. But then maybe the allies didn't expect Russia to be so effective in disrupting the existing military comms infrastructure.

[–] lemming@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Based on some old tweets, I think Musk believes Putin wants to use nuclear weapons. Then, the army put some pressure on him to keep supporting Ukraine, but he is still also working on his own. I'm sure he could block the Starlink terminals Russian army is using, if he wanted to try, for example.

[–] ptfrd@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I’m sure he could block the Starlink terminals Russian army is using, if he wanted to try, for example.

I remember a story coming out about Russians using Starlink but it seemed a bit vague to me. Has anyone reliable actually asserted that SpaceX are significantly underperforming in the job of blocking captured terminals (once notified), or other aspects of the day-to-day operations that the Ukrainians would do if they controlled it themselves?

[–] lemming@sh.itjust.works 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I actually don't know. I didn't dig into it, I just read an article about Russians praising Starlink bought through third parties used at the front. It seemed similar enough to other captured communications previously shown as accurate. But it doesn't definitively prove anything for sure. It could've easily been propaganda from any involved party.

[–] ptfrd@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Just saw this https://x.com/SpaceX/status/1849956344691912873

... As has been repeatedly confirmed by the Department of Defense, SpaceX has worked (and continues to work) in close partnership with the U.S. Government regarding Ukraine and denial of service to bad actors. ...

[–] ptfrd@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah. One possibility is that SpaceX were indeed underperforming, and the story was placed to put public pressure on them to improve. (A bit like the 2019-09-27 Bridenstine tweet.)