Elon Musk – Mostly Harmless? Editor’s Opinion

14th Oct 2024
Elon Musk – Mostly Harmless? Editor’s Opinion

This past weekend was intense, in a Elon Musk kind of way. If you were not awed by the engineering marvel that was the Starship booster settling into the chopsticks of the launch (and now return) pad’s tower, what would? I’ve watched video of it from every angle that I could find, and am stunned every time. The 13th of October should be a day worth noting in the space industry if only for that.

On Sunday, though, I also read an article in The Washington Post about how Starlink is being used by the Russian army in its invasion of Ukraine despite sanctions and technical blockages such as geofencing. The technical ability of the Russians to use Starlink along the line of contact is something we’ve covered before, and the fact on the ground has not changed despite claims by both the Ukrainians and the Americans that they were working on ways to prevent this from happening. The slowness with which workarounds are being brought forth is comparable to other game-changing remedies needed on the front. There’s a silver lining for the Ukrainians in that they can use the same ways to get around geofencing in Russia when operating in Kursk Oblast. However, the Russians’ use of it has been a decisive factor in recent advances and the fall of the town of Vuhledar.

Elon Musk – mostly harmless?

Elon Musk figures behind the booster catch and the Starlink misuse. When it comes to Starlink, the issue of the terminals being usable only by the Ukrainians becomes more heated due to Musk’s interference that prevented a Ukrainian attack on Russian naval assets in Sevastopol’ in 2022. There is also Russian money behind his ownership of the X social media platform. So, is it right, as some in Ukraine are wont to do, to blame him for the proliferation of terminals? At the same time, how much of the credit should he get for the landing?

The answer, I think, can be found in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, as Earth is termed ‘Mostly Harmless’. The label presupposes ‘slightly or somewhat harmful’, too, and I think it fits, as the Sevastopol’ interference was definitely harmful.

Current events are a different story. Problems with Starlink abuse will be ongoing for as long as there are technologically-oriented people determined to end Ukraine. It stands separately from the engineering achievement SpaceX has reached with Starship, and should not be forgotten. But SpaceX’ achievement stands on its own.

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