Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Ukrainian officials say speed limits on SpaceX's military Starshield network are still downing drones, a reminder that families should never rely on a single communications link.
Ukrainian defense officials said on Friday, October 23, that speed limits on Starshield were still in place along the front lines, CNN and Euronews reported. Starshield is the military-grade version of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet. The report came a day after President Donald Trump said Elon Musk had restored Ukraine's access. The limits began overnight on October 13 to 14. Ukrainian officials quoted by SatNews and CBS News said terminals moving above a set speed started dropping their connection without warning.
The cap matters most for Ukraine's drones, many of which rely on that satellite link. On October 17, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the maximum speed was 161 km/h, about 100 mph. Above that speed, he said, the connection shuts down and the drone is lost. CBS News reported that some units saw link drops at speeds as low as 90 km/h, about 56 mph. Zelenskyy said the limits kept Ukraine from using Starshield to shoot down Russian Shahed attack drones. A Ukrainian drone pilot and analyst estimated the losses at tens of millions of dollars, an estimate that has not been independently confirmed. On Friday, Zelenskyy adviser Serhii Beskrestnov said he had seen no sign the limits were lifted. He said isolated cases of faster service were likely due to SpaceX's algorithm.
Who ordered the slowdown is still disputed. Musk wrote on X on October 14 that Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the US government. He added that limits are decided by the US military and ultimately the president. Reuters reported, citing two US officials and a Western official, that the order came from inside the White House. The Telegraph reported that Musk first suggested the idea to Trump. Trump has said he was not involved. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US had not pulled anything back, while pointing to terms of service that must be followed. Zelenskyy said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told him service would be fully restored within 48 to 72 hours. On Thursday, Ukraine signed a letter of intent with Nokia and satellite maker ICEYE to develop other satellite options, CNBC reported.
The reported limits apply to terminals moving at speed inside Ukraine. Zelenskyy said they do not operate in European Union countries. The lesson still applies at home. Any single network, however good, can change overnight because of decisions its users never see. Many families lean on one cell carrier or one satellite service as their only backup, and that is the gap worth closing.
Start by giving your household at least two ways to reach each other that do not fail for the same reason. A cell plan, a landline or satellite service, and a pair of FRS or GMRS radios cover different failures. Our guide to staying in touch with family during a cell outage walks through each one. You get a household that keeps talking when one link goes quiet.
Next, write it down. A family emergency plan names an out-of-area contact and a meeting spot, so everyone knows where to go even when no message gets through. Keep a printed copy in each bag and car, because a phone with no signal cannot open anything stored online.
Then make your navigation work offline. A standalone unit from our guide to GPS devices reads satellites directly and needs no data plan. A paper road map backs it up. Keep spare batteries with the unit so the backup has power when you need it.
Finally, weigh conflicting claims with care. In this story, Washington said service was fixed while the people using it said it was not. Our guide to spotting misinformation and propaganda helps you check sources and wait for confirmation from people on the ground before you act.
As of Friday, Ukrainian officials said the speed cap remained, and Trump said he would speak with Musk if the service was not fixed. Be Prepared Not Scared!
