New York Times
• Alex Travelli
Kyiv says SpaceX has imposed unannounced restrictions on military-grade Starlink terminals, disrupting longer-range drone strikes and efforts to intercept Russian jet-powered drones. The reports come as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid, including a strike that left 600,000 people in Kyiv without power.
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Kyiv says SpaceX has imposed unannounced restrictions on military-grade Starlink terminals, disrupting longer-range drone strikes and efforts to intercept Russian jet-powered drones. The reports come as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid, including a strike that left 600,000 people in Kyiv without power.
The U.S. Army stress-tested Amazon’s nascent proliferated satellite communications network to assess its ability to deliver high-speed connectivity to soldiers in the field. The demonstration marks a step in Amazon Leo’s push into military communications as it develops a rival to SpaceX’s Starlink.
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Starlink’s entry into India remains stalled as the company faces security reviews and spectrum requirements. The regulatory hurdles complicate Elon Musk’s effort to challenge the country’s established telecom operators, leaving the timing of a launch uncertain.
Amazon Leo says it remains on track to begin initial broadband service this year, with its first launch on ULA’s Vulcan and its third flight on Europe’s Ariane 6 in the 64-booster configuration expected “in the coming weeks.” The missions are part of the constellation’s deployment sequence.
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Amazon says it has built its 1,000th satellite and is weeks from beginning its space-based internet rollout. The milestone puts the focus on the manufacturing scale and deployment cadence behind Project Kuiper as the company moves from satellite production toward service launch.
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Elon Musk accused unnamed Indian oligarchs of blocking Starlink’s launch to protect their market position, while India’s Communications Ministry said its satellite communications approval framework is fair and non-discriminatory. Musk also rejected claims that Starlink was used by insurgent groups, saying its beams were turned off over India.
Delta Air Lines has chosen Amazon’s Leo satellite network to power its next-generation in-flight Wi-Fi, opting for the service over SpaceX’s Starlink. The decision positions Amazon’s emerging connectivity network as a competitor in airline broadband and gives Delta a different technology path from United.
Ukraine is asking Washington to sanction several Russian entities it says are helping develop Rassvet, a domestic satellite network intended as an alternative to SpaceX’s Starlink. The appeal underscores the network’s strategic significance and Kyiv’s effort to constrain Russia’s access to space-based communications capabilities.
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