According to a report, the US government may be subsidizing SpaceX's provision of Starlink internet terminals and service to Ukraine, despite the fact that SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket firm, has said it has not received any money from the government.
The expenditures are detailed in a piece published Friday by The Washington Post, which cites papers from the US Agency for International Development. According to the Washington Post, the US government and taxpayers have contributed almost $3 million to the endeavor. According to the publication, the funds were used to purchase over 1,500 Starlink terminals for $1,500 apiece, as well as $800,000 in shipping charges to Ukraine.
According to the Post, SpaceX has also contributed 3,670 terminals as well as the internet service. Its report didn't specify how much SpaceX may have paid out of pocket as a result of this.
"I don't think the US has granted us any money to deliver terminals to Ukraine," said SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell in late March to CNBC. She also stated that the majority of the cash came from private sources, with France and maybe Poland contributing some assistance.
Musk announced shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February that SpaceX would provide Starlink terminals to Ukraine so that residents could utilize the satellite internet service while other avenues of internet access were disrupted. He also advised users who use the program to be cautious in order to avoid being detected by Russian authorities.
According to the account in the Post, more than 5,000 Starlink terminals were selected to be deployed to Ukraine.
According to a USAID spokeswoman, the delivery of the Starlink terminals was made possible by "a spectrum of partners," whose combined contributions totaled more than $15 million and facilitated procurement, foreign flights, on-the-ground transportation, and the satellite internet connection.
The SpaceX Starlink terminals were originally deployed in late February in response to a request from Ukraine's vice prime minister and digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.
"While you're attempting to populate Mars, Russia is attempting to annex Ukraine! Russian rockets hit Ukrainian civilians as your rockets successfully land from orbit! We request that you send Starlink stations to Ukraine and address sensible Russians to stand "Fedorov had tweeted about it at the time.
Since 2018, Starlink has sent around 2,000 satellites into orbit to offer a worldwide internet grid.