A spokesperson for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) told FOX Business that a wide range of stakeholders contributed over $15 million to the procurement and delivery of the terminals.
USAID purchased 1,333 of the terminals directly and provided logistical support on the ground to ensure their safe delivery. Meanwhile, SpaceX supplied the remaining 3,667 terminals as well as the satellite internet service.
"The Starlink satellite terminals will enable unlimited, unrestricted data connectivity from anywhere in Ukraine," according to the agency. "The terminals will allow public officials and critical citizen service providers to continue communicating within Ukraine and with the rest of the world, even if Putin's brutal aggression cuts off Ukraine's fiber-optic or cellular communication infrastructure connections."
When Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted at SpaceX founder Elon Musk, requesting Starlink internet services in the midst of the Russian invasion, the tech billionaire delivered - with the assistance of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Fedorov requested assistance on February 26, and the first shipment of Starlink terminals arrived just two days later - an incredible logistical feat. However, SpaceX had already been working on the Ukraine delivery for six weeks at that point, starting the process well before Russia's invasion, and was simply waiting for permission to enter the country.
The majority of the terminals - 3,667, to be exact - as well as the associated internet service were donated directly by SpaceX at a cost of "roughly $10 million," according to Space reporter Joey Roulette, with USAID purchasing the remaining 1,333 terminals.
Roulette also claimed, citing an earlier conversation with SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell, that France and Poland had contributed to the Starlink shipments to Ukraine in another tweet(opens in new tab). However, the announcement from USAID only mentions the American partnership.
SpaceX's Starlink program is intended to provide affordable, low-latency internet service to remote locations around the world via its ever-expanding constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites, with launches adding to the network roughly once every week or two throughout 2022.
Using a constellation of satellites, Starlink is designed to provide high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to people all over the world. It's ideal for areas where connectivity has been spotty or non-existent.
SpaceX's humanitarian mission in Ukraine is not its first. For example, after a volcanic eruption disrupted communication services in Tonga on December 20, 2021, the aerospace company sent Starlink terminals there.
