The billionaire founder of SpaceX, Elon Muskhas asked the United States Department of Defense to take charge of the cost to supply satellites for communications Ukrainesomething that until now was doing for free.
As published this Thursday by the American channel CNNSpaceX would have already communicated to the Pentagon that if it does not contribute tens of millions of dollars each month, donations could be nearing their end.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Musk has been sending terminals of his satellite connection service SpaceX Starlink to try to alleviate internet service interruptions in Ukraine caused by the bombing.
According to Musk himself, the operation has already cost SpaceX $80 million and is expected to reach 100 million by the end of the year.
Last July, SpaceX launched a rocket with 53 compact broadband repeater stations for the Starlink internet network, which is close to reaching 3,000, from the Cape Canaveral air base (Florida).
The new Starlink satellites were dropped into an orbit between 144 miles and 209 miles in altitude (232 by 337 kilometers) and used onboard propulsion to reach a circular orbit 335 miles (540 kilometers) above Earth.
Capacity for up to 30,000 satellites
With this addition they are already 2,759 satellites of Starlink Internet, including prototypes and test units that are no longer in service.
After reaching its operational orbit, satellites entered commercial service and began transmitting broadband signals to consumers, who can purchase Starlink service and connect to the network with a ground terminal provided by SpaceX.
According to specialized media, the network has more than 250,000 users around the world and has permission to launch 12,000 satellites, but is seeking approval to deploy up to 30,000 more.
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Musk asks the Pentagon to pay to continue donating satellites to Ukraine