Kremlin: SpaceX satellites are a threat to Russia
Satellites of the Starlink system, which is being deployed by Elon Musk's SpaceX company, can be used for military purposes in the future, said the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin.
According to him, such spacecraft not only provide access to the Internet, but they are also able to control cruise missiles, special forces, spy networks and transmit directly into smartphones purely political content.
"Most likely anti-Russian, so that we could not sovereignly protect our own Internet," Rogozin said.
At the same time, he asked "not to tell tales” that this project, which is led by a private investor, is "amazing". "This year they received about $900 million, and the entire subsidy is $20 billion for the near future. The question arises, why does the state need it?" Rogozin asked.
In December 2020, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allocated about $885 million to Musk's project to expand broadband internet coverage in remote American regions. Then Rogozin suggested that Starlink was funded by the Pentagon.
SpaceX began providing commercial Internet access services through its satellites in the northern U.S. and Canada in 2020. As of August 2021, the number of users of the beta network reached 100 thousand in 14 countries. In early September, SpaceX published the results of testing the system. The company reported that the satellites provide data download at speeds in excess of 100 Mbps, and such low connection latency allows to play the most advanced online games.