A supply of Starlink user terminals - small antennas that allow users to access SpaceX's satellite-based internet service - landed in Ukraine on Tuesday, providing a backstop for Ukrainians whose traditional internet connection may be disrupted as a result of Russia's incursion.
Elon Musk, the founder and Chief executive of SpaceX, revealed on Saturday that the Starlink internet service had been launched in Ukraine, which had been experiencing power outages and internet service gaps as a result of Russia's invasion.
At the time, Musk also stated that more were "on the way."
After Ukraine's vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who is also Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, made a plea to Musk over the weekend, SpaceX stepped in to help.
"Russia is aiming to annex Ukraine while you're attempting to populate Mars! Russian rockets attack Ukrainian citizens! We request that you send Starlink stations to Ukraine and direct sane Russians to take a position," Fedorov said.
Fedorov posted a snapshot of the Starlink terminals arriving in Ukraine, as well as his gratitude to Musk.
"You're welcome," said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
Starlink is a satellite-based internet constellation that aims to blanket the globe in high-speed broadband, potentially bringing internet access to billions of people who currently lack it.
Satellite internet has long served as a vital backup to land-based internet connectivity, as it can remain operational even when ground infrastructure is destroyed by war or natural catastrophes. It can also get to places where ground-based infrastructure isn't yet in place.
Starlink, on the other hand, relies on satellites in low-Earth orbit - around 340 miles in SpaceX's case - to give continuous coverage and substantially faster upload and download rates.
As of January, Starlink, which SpaceX has been working to swiftly install over the last few years, has around 145,000 users in 25 nations.
SpaceX has already launched around 2,000 Starlink satellites and plans to launch thousands more in the future to continue blanketing the globe with internet coverage.
Musk and Fedorov exchanged tweets as Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country's deterrence forces, including nuclear weapons, to be placed on high alert.
Russian and Ukrainian teams will meet this week, according to Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Evgeny Yenin.
According to SpaceX, the Starlink technology was recently employed in Tonga, in the South Pacific Ocean, to offer internet connection to distant settlements following an undersea volcanic eruption in January.
CNN stated that the explosion was likely the largest anywhere on the earth in more than 30 years.
