Sudden! Musk, respond urgently!
The latest news of the situation in Russia and Ukraine has attracted the attention of all parties.
On February 12, the Global Times quoted the US Wall Street Journal as reporting on February 11 that the General Intelligence Department of the Ukrainian Ministry of National Defense said on the same day that the Russian army was using the "Star Chain" system developed by SpaceX on a large scale at the front line. In response, SpaceX CEO Musk responded urgently, "Some false news said that SpaceX is selling’ Star Chain’ terminals to Russia. This is absolutely wrong. "
On February 12th, local time, the Kremlin responded that elon musk’s "Star Link" satellite Internet system was neither certified for use in Russia nor officially supplied to Russia, so it could not be used.
At present, Musk’s "Star Chain" business is welcoming a big outbreak. According to a source quoted by Bloomberg, it is estimated that SpaceX’s sales in 2024 will increase to about 15 billion US dollars, in which the sales of "Star Chain" business will exceed the launch business, and the number of users of satellite Internet service will exceed 40 million by 2025. SpaceX’s annual income can reach 30 billion US dollars, and the "Star Chain" project will become the most profitable business.
Musk responded urgently.
On February 12, the Global Times quoted the American Wall Street Journal as reporting on February 11 that the General Intelligence Bureau of the Ukrainian Ministry of National Defense said on the same day that the Russian army was using the "Star Chain" system developed by SpaceX on a large scale near the front line of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which might weaken a major battlefield advantage of the Ukrainian army.
According to the report, by using the "star chain" system, Ukrainian frontline troops can communicate safely with Internet applications, so that they can keep in touch without relying on mobile phones or radio signals that are more easily monitored by Russian troops.
Andrei Yusov, spokesman for the General Intelligence Department of Ukraine’s Ministry of National Defense, said that Russian troops are "systematically" using "Star Chain" terminals, which are used by Russian 83rd Air Assault Brigade and other troops, which are fighting near the towns of Cris Chivka and Andrevka in Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
The statement did not mention how the Russian army obtained these terminals, for example, whether they were purchased from abroad or seized from the Ukrainian army.
This is the first time Ukraine has issued an official statement on Russia’s alleged use of the Star Chain.
Later on December 11, local time, SpaceX CEO Musk responded urgently.
Musk responded that "some false news said that SpaceX is selling’ Star Chain’ terminals to Russia. This is absolutely wrong. "
Musk wrote on the social platform X: "As far as we know, no’ Star Chain’ terminal is directly or indirectly sold to Russia."
On February 12th, local time, the Kremlin also responded that elon musk’s "Star Link" satellite Internet system was neither certified for use in Russia nor officially supplied to Russia, so it could not be used.
Kremlin spokesman dmitry Peskov said in an interview: "This is not our certified system; Therefore, it cannot be officially supplied here, nor is it officially supplied. Therefore, it cannot be officially used in any way. "
Frequently involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict
The Global Times quoted The Wall Street Journal as saying that SpaceX had issued a statement on social platform X on February 8, local time, saying that the "Star Chain" satellite service could not be used in Russia, but did not explain whether this service could be used on the Russian-controlled side of the Russian-Ukrainian front line.
A SpaceX spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the 11th.
The report pointed out that although the "Star Chain" terminal could not be purchased in Russia, Ukrainian media reported that the Russian army had purchased the equipment in a third country and brought it to the front. In addition, the Russian army may have seized the "star chain" terminal from the Ukrainian army, so that it can access the "star chain" network. Although SpaceX has the ability to track the "Star Chain" users in a specific geographical location, it may be difficult for the company to determine whether the users are Russian or Ukrainian, especially in front-line areas.
The Wall Street Journal said that since Musk decided to provide "Star Chain" service for Ukraine after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the use of the "Star Chain" system has always been a politically charged issue.
According to the report, the "Star Chain" system is considered to be crucial to the actions of the Ukrainian army, so that when SpaceX said that it could no longer provide access funds for Uzbekistan in 2023, the US Department of Defense and other Ukrainian supporters were forced to agree to pay the fees to maintain the operation of the service.
In September 2023, Musk said that in the early days of the conflict, he rejected Ukraine’s request to start the "Star Chain" service near Sevastopol, Crimea, in order to avoid SpaceX’s direct involvement in Uzbekistan’s plan to attack Russian ships.
Gwen Shotwell, president of SpaceX, said at a meeting earlier that SpaceX had taken measures to restrict the use of the "Star Chain" system in Ukrainian military operations. She said at the time that the company did not intend to make the "star chain" a weapon.
"Star Chain" Outbreak
SpaceX is a space exploration technology company owned by Musk. Its main business includes orbital rocket launch, manned space flight and satellite Internet service. The satellite Internet service is the star chain service, which aims to provide high-speed Internet connection for users around the world through satellite network.
According to Bloomberg, which previously quoted people familiar with the matter, SpaceX’s revenue from rocket launch and starlink business in 2023 is estimated to be about 9 billion US dollars, and its sales are expected to increase to about 15 billion US dollars in 2024.
According to the report, it is estimated that the sales of "Star Chain" business will exceed the launch business in 2024, which will account for most of SpaceX’s total revenue. By 2025, the number of users of satellite Internet services will exceed 40 million, and SpaceX’s annual revenue will reach 30 billion US dollars. The "Star Chain" project will become the most profitable "Golden Bull" business.
Musk has been trying to use the "Star Chain" business unit as an important source of income to fund SpaceX’s capital-intensive projects.
It is reported that "Star Chain" is a low-orbit Internet constellation plan proposed by SpaceX in 2014, with the goal of building a space-based communication system with global coverage, large capacity and low delay, and providing high-speed Internet services on a global scale.
Statistics show that by the end of 2023, "Star Chain" has been applied in 65 countries, serving over 2.3 million users, an increase of over 1.3 million.
According to the latest report of Cloudflare, a network infrastructure company, compared with 2022, American traffic from "Star Chain" increased by more than 150% in 2023.
From a global perspective, according to the statistics of Cloudflare, the internet traffic in the world increased by 25% in 2023, while the traffic of "Star Chain" was twice as much as this data.
It is worth mentioning that in the past year, Musk has strengthened in-depth cooperation with the US military. The most striking thing is that SpaceX has specially created a service product called "Star Shield" for the US military, and in view of the good performance of "Star Chain" on the battlefield in Ukraine, the US Department of Defense also awarded SpaceX a contract worth 70 million US dollars in September 2023.
According to the contract, the Star Shield network will provide end-to-end services for the military through the Star Chain constellation, user terminals, auxiliary equipment, network management and other related services, and on the basis of the Star Chain data encryption service, the Star Shield has been added with additional encryption technology to ensure the security of data processing of the hosted payload, and SpaceX has become the first provider to provide low-earth orbit satellite services for the US military.
Original title: "Sudden! Musk, respond urgently! 》
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