Starlink, the satellite internet service from SpaceX, is set to provide a key lifeline in portions of southern Appalachia that were ravaged by Hurricane Helene.
Deploying hundreds of ground-based Starlink devices that connect to satellites to offer internet services to rural places is something the Biden administration has declared it plans to undertake.
Additionally, the business has stated that private citizens and groups are deploying about 500 Starlink kits to aid in the recovery operations. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has stated that the business is covering expenditures in impacted areas.
This connectivity occurs at a time when many communities are still without access to phone or internet networks.
However, politics has become an unwelcome component of this connectedness.
On Monday, the former president said that he had a direct conversation on the deployment of Starlink to impacted areas with Elon Musk, one of his most fervent and well-known supporters. A spokesman for the Biden administration promptly responded to that, pointing out that Starlink delivery were already in place at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The quick conversation takes place as concerns over the federal government’s preparedness and the deployment of FEMA resources prior to the storm have surfaced, raising doubts about the reaction of the government. On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden paid a visit to the region.
Musk hasn’t directly linked Starlink to any criticisms of recovery efforts, but he has seemed at ease linking the internet satellite service to Trump. On Tuesday, he claimed that Trump had informed him about the need for more Starlink terminals in North Carolina, reposting the former president’s claims that he had asked for Starlinks to be sent.
Musk stated on X on Tuesday, “SpatieX has sent as many Starlink terminals as possible to help areas in need since the Hurricane Helene disaster.” “@realDonaldTrump informed me earlier today that there are more individuals in North Carolina that require Starlink Internet. They are receiving terminals from us immediately.
This is not the first time that Musk appears to have politicized Starlink access in ways that defy the administration of Joe Biden, according to opponents.
Last year, the Ukrainian government, which has depended extensively on Starlink to help defend itself against Russia’s invasion, attacked Musk after finding he had apparently pushed to limit Starlink access for its military. Musk published a number of postings on X outlining his version of events.
“The aforementioned Starlink areas were not turned on. Musk responded to a topic on X about Ukraine’s assertions, which were stated in a book about the crisis, by saying that SpaceX has not deactivated anything.
“The government authorities requested in an emergency to activate Starlink all the way to Sevastopol,” he said, mentioning the largest city in Crimea and the location of Russia’s Black Sea navy.
Musk stated, “The obvious intent is to sink the majority of the Russian fleet at anchor.” “SpaceX would be openly complicit in a significant act of war and conflict escalation if I had granted their request.”
Prior to that, Musk suggested SpaceX would suffer a significant financial loss on that deployment and requested the US government to take over financing Ukraine’s usage of the network. Ultimately, Musk’s terminals would be purchased by the Pentagon and used in Ukraine.
Additionally, Musk is charged with compromising Taiwan’s and American military’ access to certain service versions.
Experts describe StarShield as a military version of Starlink. In February, Musk got a letter from the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, inquiring as to why American forces stationed in Taiwan were unable to access StarShield. Musk stated that he was in complete compliance with his Pentagon contract, and SpaceX refuted the House’s accusation.
As to a CNN report, Taiwan proposed that SpaceX hold a majority stake in a Starlink-based company. However, the island government rejected the idea, citing legal inconsistencies. The influence of Musk’s business connections to China, where his electric vehicle firm, Tesla, has an assembly facility and is constructing a new Gigafactory, has also drawn scrutiny from Taiwanese officials.
“What if China put pressure on Musk to step down because he has China’s market at stake, and we were dependent on Starlink?” The Times was informed by Yisuo Tzeng, a researcher at the think tank backed by Taiwan’s military ministry, the Institute for National military and Security Research. “That is something we need to consider.”
Washington has been pushing for years to privatize the space business, which has strengthened the links between Musk’s companies and the US government. In order to transport two astronauts who became stuck on the International Space Station, NASA just contracted SpaceX, with a rendezvous now set for February.
Apart from Starlink and SpaceX, Musk is also the owner of Tesla and X, which was once Twitter. He has boasted about his current level of authority.
Last year, Musk wrote on X, “I may have more real-time global economic data in one head than anyone ever—between Tesla, Starlink, and Twitter.”
