🚀💫 Elon Musk’s Unmatched Power in da Stars

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On March 17, Gen. Mark A. Milley, da chairman of da Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, da leader of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, dialed into a call fo’ discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ova da secure line, da two military leaders conferred on air defense systems, real-time battlefield assessments and shared intelligence on Russia’s military losses.

Dey also talked ’bout Elon Musk.

General Zaluzhnyi raised da topic of Starlink, da satellite internet technology made by Mr. Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, tree people wit knowledge of da conversation said. Ukraine’s battlefield decisions depended on da continued use of Starlink fo’ communications, General Zaluzhnyi said, and his country wanted fo’ ensure access and discuss how fo’ cover da cost of da service.

General Zaluzhnyi also asked if da United States had an assessment of Mr. Musk, who has sprawling business interests and murky politics — to which American officials gave no answer.

Mr. Musk, who leads SpaceX, Tesla and Twitter, has become da most dominant playa in space as he has steadily amassed power ova da strategically significant field of satellite internet. Yet faced wit little regulation and oversight, his erratic and personality-driven style has increasingly worried militaries and political leaders around da world, wit da tech billionaire sometimes wielding his authority in unpredictable ways.

Since 2019, Mr. Musk has sent SpaceX rockets into space nearly every week dat deliver dozens of sofa-size satellites into orbit. Da satellites communicate wit terminals on Earth, so dey can beam high-speed internet to nearly every corner of da planet. Today, mo’ dan 4,500 Starlink satellites are in da skies, accounting fo’ mo’ dan 50 percent of all active satellites. Dey have already started changing da complexion of da night sky, even before accounting fo’ Mr. Musk’s plans fo’ have as many as 42,000 satellites in orbit in da coming years.

Da power of da technology, which has helped push da value of closely held SpaceX to nearly $140 billion, is jus’ beginning to be felt.

Starlink is often da only way to get internet access in war zones, remote areas and places hit by natural disasters. It is used in Ukraine fo’ coordinating drone strikes and intelligence gathering. Activists in Iran and Turkey have sought to use da service as a hedge against government controls. Da U.S. Defense Department is a big Starlink customer, while oddah militaries, such as in Japan, are testing da technology.

But Mr. Musk’s near total control of satellite internet has raised alarms.

A combustible personality, da 52-year-old’s allegiances are fuzzy. While Mr. Musk is hailed as a genius innovator, he alone can decide to shut down Starlink internet access fo’ a customer or country, and he has da ability to leverage sensitive information dat da service gathers. Such concerns have been heightened because no companies or governments have come close to matching what he has built.

In Ukraine, some fears have been realized. Mr. Musk has restricted Starlink access multiple times during da war, people familiar wit da situation said. At one point, he denied da Ukrainian military’s request to turn on Starlink near Crimea, da Russian-controlled territory, affecting battlefield strategy. Last year, he publicly floated a “peace plan” fo’ da war dat seemed aligned wit Russian interests.

At times, Mr. Musk has openly flaunted Starlink’s capabilities. “Between, Tesla, Starlink & Twitter, I may have mo’ real-time global economic data in one head dan anyone evah,” he tweeted in April.

Mr. Musk did not respond to requests fo’ comment. SpaceX declined to comment.

Worried ’bout ova-dependence on Mr. Musk’s technology, Ukrainian officials have talked wit oddah satellite internet providers, though dey acknowledged none rival Starlink’s reach.

“Starlink is indeed da blood of our entire communication infrastructure now,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s digital minister, said in an interview.

At least nine countries — including in Europe and da Middle East — have also brought up Starlink wit American officials ova da past 18 months, wit some questioning Mr. Musk’s power ova da technology, two U.S. intelligence officials briefed on da discussions said. Few nations will speak publicly ’bout their concerns, fo’ fear of alienating Mr. Musk, said intelligence and cybersecurity officials briefed on da conversations.

U.S. officials have said little publicly ’bout Starlink as dey balance domestic and geopolitical priorities related to Mr. Musk, who has criticized President Biden but whose technology is unavoidable.

Da federal government is one of SpaceX’s biggest customers, using its rockets fo’ NASA missions and launching military surveillance satellites. Senior Pentagon officials have tried mediating issues involving Starlink, particularly Ukraine, a person familiar wit da discussions said.

Da Defense Department confirmed it contracts wit Starlink, but it declined to elaborate, citing “da critical nature of dese systems.”

Oddah governments are wary. Taiwan, which has an internet infrastructure dat could be vulnerable in da event of a Chinese invasion, is reluctant to use da service partly because of Mr. Musk’s business links to China, Taiwanese and American officials said.

China has its own concerns. Mr. Musk said last year dat Beijing sought assurances dat he would not turn Starlink on inside da country, where da internet is controlled and censored by da state. In 2020, China registered wit an international body to launch 13,000 internet satellites of its own.

Da European Union, partly driven by misgivings ’bout Starlink and Mr. Musk, also earmarked 2.4 billion euros, or $2.6 billion, last year to build a satellite constellation fo’ civilian and military use.

“This is not jus’ one company, but one person,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, a cybersecurity expert who co-founded da Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank and has advised governments on satellite internet. “You are completely beholden to his whims and desires.”

Reaching fo’ da skies 🛰️☁️

Sir Martin Sweeting, a British engineer who founded da satellite design and manufacturing company Surrey Satellite Technology, was encouraged by a business associate in 2001 to meet wit a “chap who wants fo’ put a greenhouse on Mars.” It turned out to be Mr. Musk.

Mr. Sweeting and Mr. Musk met soon aftah fo’ breakfast at a space conference in Colorado, where da tech entrepreneur criticized NASA and talked ’bout building a private space fleet.
Dere work together was one of da earliest examples of Mr. Musk’s focus on a technology dat would help underpin Starlink. Satellites dating to da 1960s are typically biggah — often da size of school buses — and located highah in space, in what is known as “geosynchronous orbit,” limiting their communication capabilities. Smaller satellites can orbit at a lower altitude, allowing dem to link up wit terminals on Earth to beam high-speed internet service to far-flung locations.

Many small satellites are necessary fo’ dis to work. Dat’s because as one satellite moves above a Starlink terminal on land, it hands da internet signal to anoddah satellite behind it to keep up a single, uninterrupted flow to users below. 🔄📡

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NOW IN ENGLISH

🚀💫 Elon Musk’s Unmatched Power in the Stars

On March 17, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the leader of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, dialed into a call to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Over the secure line, the two military leaders conferred on air defense systems, real-time battlefield assessments, and shared intelligence on Russia’s military losses.

They also talked about Elon Musk.

General Zaluzhnyi raised the topic of Starlink, the satellite internet technology made by Mr. Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, three people with knowledge of the conversation said. Ukraine’s battlefield decisions depended on the continued use of Starlink for communications, General Zaluzhnyi said, and his country wanted to ensure access and discuss how to cover the cost of the service.

General Zaluzhnyi also asked if the United States had an assessment of Mr. Musk, who has sprawling business interests and murky politics — to which American officials gave no answer.

Mr. Musk, who leads SpaceX, Tesla, and Twitter, has become the most dominant player in space as he has steadily amassed power over the strategically significant field of satellite internet. Yet faced with little regulation and oversight, his erratic and personality-driven style has increasingly worried militaries and political leaders around the world, with the tech billionaire sometimes wielding his authority in unpredictable ways.

Since 2019, Mr. Musk has sent SpaceX rockets into space nearly every week that deliver dozens of sofa-size satellites into orbit. The satellites communicate with terminals on Earth, so they can beam high-speed internet to nearly every corner of the planet. Today, more than 4,500 Starlink satellites are in the skies, accounting for more than 50 percent of all active satellites. They have already started changing the complexion of the night sky, even before accounting for Mr. Musk’s plans to have as many as 42,000 satellites in orbit in the coming years.

The power of the technology, which has helped push the value of closely held SpaceX to nearly $140 billion, is just beginning to be felt.

Starlink is often the only way to get internet access in war zones, remote areas, and places hit by natural disasters. It is used in Ukraine for coordinating drone strikes and intelligence gathering. Activists in Iran and Turkey have sought to use the service as a hedge against government controls. The U.S. Defense Department is a big Starlink customer, while other militaries, such as in Japan, are testing the technology.

But Mr. Musk’s near total control of satellite internet has raised alarms.

A combustible personality, the 52-year-old’s allegiances are fuzzy. While Mr. Musk is hailed as a genius innovator, he alone can decide to shut down Starlink internet access for a customer or country, and he has the ability to leverage sensitive information that the service gathers. Such concerns have been heightened because no companies or governments have come close to matching what he has built.

In Ukraine, some fears have been realized. Mr. Musk has restricted Starlink access multiple times during the war, people familiar with the situation said. At one point, he denied the Ukrainian military’s request to turn on Starlink near Crimea, the Russian-controlled territory, affecting battlefield strategy. Last year, he publicly floated a “peace plan” for the war that seemed aligned with Russian interests.

At times, Mr. Musk has openly flaunted Starlink’s capabilities. “Between, Tesla, Starlink & Twitter, I may have more real-time global economic data in one head than anyone ever,” he tweeted in April.

Mr. Musk did not respond to requests for comment. SpaceX declined to comment.

Worried about over-dependence on Mr. Musk’s technology, Ukrainian officials have talked with other satellite internet providers, though they acknowledged none rival Starlink’s reach.

“Starlink is indeed the blood of our entire communication infrastructure now,” Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s digital minister, said in an interview.

At least nine countries — including in Europe and the Middle East — have also brought up Starlink with American officials over the past 18 months, with some questioning Mr. Musk’s power over the technology, two U.S. intelligence officials briefed on the discussions said. Few nations will speak publicly about their concerns, for fear of alienating Mr. Musk, said intelligence and cybersecurity officials briefed on the conversations.

U.S. officials have said little publicly about Starlink as they balance domestic and geopolitical priorities related to Mr. Musk, who has criticized President Biden but whose technology is unavoidable.

The federal government is one of SpaceX’s biggest customers, using its rockets for NASA missions and launching military surveillance satellites. Senior Pentagon officials have tried mediating issues involving Starlink, particularly Ukraine, a person familiar with the discussions said.

The Defense Department confirmed it contracts with Starlink, but it declined to elaborate, citing “the critical nature of these systems.”

Other governments are wary. Taiwan, which has an internet infrastructure that could be vulnerable in the event of a Chinese invasion, is reluctant to use the service partly because of Mr. Musk’s business links to China, Taiwanese and American officials said.

China has its own concerns. Mr. Musk said last year that Beijing sought assurances that he would not turn Starlink on inside the country, where the internet is controlled and censored by the state. In 2020, China registered with an international body to launch 13,000 internet satellites of its own.

The European Union, partly driven by misgivings about Starlink and Mr. Musk, also earmarked 2.4 billion euros, or $2.6 billion, last year to build a satellite constellation for civilian and military use.

“This is not just one company, but one person,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, a cybersecurity expert who co-founded the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank and has advised governments on satellite internet. “You are completely beholden to his whims and desires.”

Reaching for the skies 🚀☁️

Sir Martin Sweeting, a British engineer who founded the satellite design and manufacturing company Surrey Satellite Technology, was encouraged by a business associate in 2001 to meet with a “chap who wants to put a greenhouse on Mars.” It turned out to be Mr. Musk.

Mr. Sweeting and Mr. Musk met soon after for breakfast at a space conference in Colorado, where the tech entrepreneur criticized NASA and talked about building a private space fleet.
Their work together was one of the earliest examples of Mr. Musk’s focus on a technology that would help underpin Starlink. Satellites dating to the 1960s are typically bigger — often the size of school buses — and located higher in space, in what is known as “geosynchronous orbit,” limiting their communication capabilities. Smaller satellites can orbit at a lower altitude, allowing them to link up with terminals on Earth to beam high-speed internet service to far-flung locations.

Many small satellites are necessary for this to work. That’s because as one satellite moves above a Starlink terminal on land, it hands the internet signal to another satellite behind it to keep up a single, uninterrupted flow to users below. 🔄📡