Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation says equipment to use SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service has arrived in his country.
Mykhailo Fedorov thanked SpaceX founder Elon Musk for the equipment in a Twitter post on Monday that was accompanied by a photo of boxes on the back of a truck.
Starlink — here. Thanks, @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/dZbaYqWYCf
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 28, 2022
Musk replied with his own tweet saying: “You are most welcome.”
The tech billionaire said over the weekend that Starlink was now “active” in Ukraine and more equipment to use it was on the way. That followed a public request from Fedorov for the service.
On Saturday, Federov tweeted Musk saying, “while you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations and to address sane Russians to stand.”
Roughly 14 hours later Musk responded saying Starlink service was active in Ukraine and more terminals were en route.
Starlink is a satellite-based internet system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world. It markets itself as “ideally suited” for areas where internet service is unreliable or unavailable.
According to CNN, Starlink uses satellites that operate in low-Earth orbit, which allows for fast upload and download speeds and continuous coverage.