Russia warns US, again: SpaceX satellites used for military purposes may become targets

midian182 · 2024-03-20T10:22:00-0400

What just happened? Not for the first time, Russia has warned that the use of SpaceX and other commercial satellites for military purposes by the United States makes them legitimate targets. The news comes soon after a report that SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under contract with a US intelligence agency.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that SpaceX's Starshield business unit was building a spy network under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an intelligence agency that manages spy satellites.

The aim of the program is to advance the ability of the US government to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe.

Responding to that report, Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "we are aware of Washington's efforts to attract the private sector to serve its military space ambitions."

Zakharova added that the satellites could "become a legitimate target for retaliatory measures, including military ones."

SpaceX has supplied over 42,000 Starlink terminals to Ukraine and maintained them since Russia invaded, helping keep the nation's critical infrastructure and its citizens online.

This isn't the first time Russia has threatened Starlink satellites. During a United Nations working group meeting on reducing space threats in 2022, Konstantin Vorontsov, a member of the Russian delegation, said that the country "would like to underline an extremely dangerous trend that goes beyond the harmless use of outer space technologies and has become apparent during the events in Ukraine. Namely, the United States and its allies use the elements of civilian, including commercial, infrastructure in outer space for military purposes." The Russian Foreign Ministry member and head of the country's UN Office for Disarmament Affairs delegation added the warning that "quasi-civilian infrastructure" may become a legitimate target for retaliation.

At the start of last year, SpaceX stopped Ukraine from using its Starlink service to control drones, noting that the system was never meant to be weaponized.

In February, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk was forced to deny claims that Starlink is being used by Russian forces in occupied territories of Ukraine, something the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency (GUR) claimed to have proof of. "To the best of our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia," Musk said. House Democrats are investigating SpaceX regarding the reports.

It's not just Russia that has raised concerns with SpaceX. A paper by government-affiliated researchers published by China's Modern Defence Technology in 2022 said the Asian nation should develop methods to destroy its satellites, which had brought hidden dangers and challenges to the country.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/102332-russia-warns-us-again-spacex-satellites-used-military.html

wiyosaya · 2024-03-20T10:49:12-0400

Putin is really upping his "war" rhetoric. If he thinks that he/Russia are going to survive another war, especially a war involving nuclear conflict, I think he is fooling himself. It is likely that he will survive for a while, however, the damage done would be irreparable. Modern society is too interdependent for him/Russia to survive beyond when his stockpile of supplies run out. IMO, Putin is a megalomaniac, and the world would be better off without him.

winjer · 2024-03-20T11:06:01-0400

Not eve Stalin was so gun ho, as Putin. What a *****.

mbk34 · 2024-03-20T12:11:28-0400

It would be far easier if congress allowed the shipment of stockpiled artillery shells to Ukraine. Then Ukraine would be happy to sort out Russia directly. The current deadlock is embarrassing to those who believe in democracy.

Theinsanegamer · 2024-03-20T12:30:34-0400

I'd like to see him try, given by his own admission his air force keeps getting shot down by a drunken Vlad and his buddies. More hilarious embarrassment always goes over well!

mbk34 said:
It would be far easier if congress allowed the shipment of stockpiled artillery shells to Ukraine. Then Ukraine would be happy to sort out Russia directly. The current deadlock is embarrassing to those who believe in democracy.

So does "democracy" now equal "unwavering support for this war effort"?

It would seem there are plenty of people who just...dont want america to get more involved in a foreign conflict, after spending the last 50 years spending tens of billions on foreign conflicts. If the rumor of the French sending troops to Ukraine is true, then it would validate all being said that this is just history repeating itself....again. All this over a mud pit that has been fought over for over 100 years, just like the sand pit that is the Middle East.

Many also havent forgotten that, prior to the invasion, Ukraine was a "den of huite supremacy" that hosted "disturbing numbers of not-sees". TIME magazine, VICE, CNN, all had stories about how bad and evil Ukraine and Zelensky were, how corrupt they were, ece. People havent just forgotten that. Nor have people forgotten how many politicians had their greedy paws in corrupt dealings in the country prior to this.

I like the idea of sending them more stuff, mostly because my defense contractor stocks print MINTS every time it happens, and embarrassing Putin is funny. Ukraine is doomed no matter who wins. But I'm not so pig headed as to believe that opposition to the war effort doesnt have a strong point nor valid arguments.

Kotters · 2024-03-20T13:28:37-0400

I dunno, sending equipment designed and built to fight Russians over for other people to use to fight Russians instead of spending time, money, and effort to decommission them seems good to me. Every dollar spent shipping that stuff to Ukraine is five dollars saved having to hedge against Russian regional influence in the decades to come.

mbk34 · 2024-03-20T13:38:22-0400

Theinsanegamer said:
I'd like to see him try, given by his own admission his air force keeps getting shot down by a drunken Vlad and his buddies. More hilarious embarrassment always goes over well!

So does "democracy" now equal "unwavering support for this war effort"?

It would seem there are plenty of people who just...dont want america to get more involved in a foreign conflict, after spending the last 50 years spending tens of billions on foreign conflicts. If the rumor of the French sending troops to Ukraine is true, then it would validate all being said that this is just history repeating itself....again. All this over a mud pit that has been fought over for over 100 years, just like the sand pit that is the Middle East.

Many also havent forgotten that, prior to the invasion, Ukraine was a "den of huite supremacy" that hosted "disturbing numbers of not-sees". TIME magazine, VICE, CNN, all had stories about how bad and evil Ukraine and Zelensky were, how corrupt they were, ece. People havent just forgotten that. Nor have people forgotten how many politicians had their greedy paws in corrupt dealings in the country prior to this.

I like the idea of sending them more stuff, mostly because my defense contractor stocks print MINTS every time it happens, and embarrassing Putin is funny. Ukraine is doomed no matter who wins. But I'm not so pig headed as to believe that opposition to the war effort doesnt have a strong point nor valid arguments.

The war in Ukraine won't stop in Ukraine. Russia's intention is to take back all of the countries that were once a part of the USSR which includes countries that are now a part of NATO. The choice at the moment is to back Ukraine in it's fight against Russia or wait and then have to send in US troops (along with troops from across NATO) when Russia invades Poland, Latvia, Estonia or Lithuania. It seems like a really easy choice to me.

There's also the message you're sending the world in doing nothing. You're telling certainly China it can take Taiwan. It's all well and good spending a fortune on armaments but if internal politics stops you from ever using them then you might as well of invested the money in something useful. Doing nothing also sends a strong message to your allies - can America be trusted? I suspect the answer is no at the moment.

I don't believe Zelensky has ever been charged with corruption but I'll accept this part of the world has never been squeaky clean but it's not like America where the former president has been charged with 34 counts of fraud, 10 counts of racketeering and a separate charge for insurrection. I understand he's currently finding it difficult raising the $460m he needs to pay in fines.

toooooot · 2024-03-20T16:26:50-0400

winjer said:
Not eve Stalin was so gun ho, as Putin. What a *****.

Stalin died prepping for the next big war. Stalin would have conquered much more land if it was not for Germany striking first in ww2. Putin is a coldhearted criminal, but he did not kill millions of people unless you count misery and early death from lack of quality medicine and food a murder. Stalin killed many more than Hitler ever could, with the only difference being he killed most of those he ruled while Hitler chose other nationalities.

ddferrari · 2024-03-20T20:24:02-0400

So Putin is threatening the US again, despite struggling in little ol' Ukraine?

His resources are so depleted, Sweden could probably swoop in and take over Moscow. If NATO got involved - GAME OVER. Paper tiger.

Endymio · 2024-03-20T20:50:10-0400

Kotters said:
I dunno, sending equipment designed and built to fight Russians over for other people to use to fight Russians instead of spending time, money, and effort to decommission them seems good to me. Every dollar spent shipping that stuff to Ukraine is five dollars saved having to hedge against Russian regional influence in the decades to come.

First of all, the "we're only sending old, decommissioned gear" is utter rubbish. Over half the US aid to Ukraine is in the form of direct cash payments, and US military contractors are working overtime to craft brand-new munitions and weapon systems, as well as depleting our own reserves drastically.

Furthermore, the "we're weakening Russia" hype is nonsense as well. Russia's active military count today is 1.5M troops, up from 1.02M before the war, and -- for the first time in 30 years -- Russia is drastically increasing its military budget, rather than the slow decline its seen since the fall of the USSR.

Even more importantly, the Russian military in 2020 had never fought a modern war. Today, they have solid experience in fighting against US military tactics -- those we've been teaching Ukraine in joint war exercises since 2014 -- as well as priceless data on the actual capabilities of the US's latest military weapon systems.

Finally, all of this is moot in the final analysis. Russia has 2,000 tactical and op-tac nuclear weapons, and a total nuclear arsenal exceeding 7,000 warheads -- more than all the rest of the world combined. Despite what the unicorn-and-rainbow crowd believes, Russia can and will use them to defend Russian territory. And the primary purpose of annexing Donetsk and Luhansk -- which Putin long resisted throughout the decade-long Ukrainian civil war -- was to make the use of such weapons in Ukraine legal under the Russian constitution.

Russia warns US, again: SpaceX satellites used for military purposes may become targets

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