(CNN) – Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, announced on Saturday that the company’s Starling Internet satellites are now operational after power outages in Ukraine caused by Russia’s invasion.
“Starling service already active in Ukraine”, Musk tweeted, Is also the CEO of Tesla. “More terminals are on the way.”
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has asked Musk to provide Internet service to the country amid Russian attacks, and Musk complied, according to a Twitter exchange between the two on Saturday.
Mikhail Fedorov is also the Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. Kasturi tweeted: “When you try to colonize Mars … Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine! When your rockets land successfully from space, Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civilians.
Star Link a Internet Satellite Galaxy It aims to shut down the planet with high-speed broadband and bring connectivity to billions of people who still do not have reliable internet access.
In the case of SpaceX – about 340 miles above – the idea calls for a mass of satellites operating in low Earth orbit to provide continuous coverage.
The Twitter exchange came after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his country’s defensive forces, including nuclear weapons, to be on high alert. Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Evgeny Yenin said Talks between the Russian and Ukrainian representatives will take place on Monday morning.
Ukraine has “interrupted” power outages, but the Internet is “generally available,” a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Saturday.
The Starling system was recently used Tonga, In the South Pacific Ocean, to provide internet service to connect remote cities after a submarine eruption in January, according to SpaceX. CNN reports that the eruption may be the largest eruption recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years.
CNN’s Ellie Kaufman, Jackie Watts and Helen Reagan contributed to the report.