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[Eric Berger] Why is Elon Musk talking to Vladimir Putin, and what does it mean for SpaceX? (arstechnica.com)

submitted 2 weeks ago by threelonmusketeers@sh.itjust.works to c/spacex@sh.itjust.works

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[–] 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.)