“When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favour.”- Elon Musk
The courageous defence the people of Ukraine is leading against their aggressor, Russia, is definitely going to enter the golden chapters of the war history of the world – even if the Ukranian defence is too weak to stand against the massive military capabilities of Russians; and even if the defence has failed to attain the military support of the west (especially, the European Union powerhouses, such as Germany, France and the UK, and the North American power of the United States of America).
No solution can be attained through a war. What it can normally offer is disaster – nothing better than that.
It is pointless to take a particular side in a war. If the intention is peace, the focus should be to bring the warring fronts around a table and urge them to reach a peaceful conclusion. The more it takes to reach the said conclusion, the more disastrous the war becomes. A meeting is soon to happen between Russia and Ukraine. It is hoped that it will end in a positive note – at least will provide a breathing time to both.
At the same time, in a different terrine of the same story, something unusual and extremely surprising have happened.SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk has become a fresh sensation, and has attracted the headlines. Some media houses have even presented him as the saviour of the Ukraine population.You may be wondering what extraordinary has he done to gain this much traction. Some of us may be thinking that he might have joined the Ukrainian army.
Don’t put your imagination to wild too much.Have you ever heard about an ambitious project envisaged by SpaceX, named Starlink? Actually, it is nothing less than a new revolution, which is in making. With Starlink, SpaceX aims to provide an advanced satellite internet system, supported by a large constellation of thousands of tiny satellites.Already, not less than 1,800 satellites have been placed in the low earth orbit. By the year 2026, the number is expected to cross more than 12,000.The ambition project promises satellite internet access to most of the planet. It is expected to increase the internet penetration and will allow to take the connection even to the isolated, interior, rural regions, which is currently out of the internet coverage zone.
Until recently, Internet-For-All was a dream, considered impossible to achieve in this generation. The advent of Starlink proves the thinking as a big wrong. It allows to create a space enough to conceive much higher dreams than the said.Alright! Still, how SpaceX is connected to the Ukraine-Russian conflict may be the question that is haunting you at this moment. Ok, I wish not to create no more suspense.
A few hours before Ukrainian Minister Of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov published a tweet explaining how, disrespecting their sovereignty, Russia have occupied their territory and attacked their innocent population with rocket launchers. Satirically, he compared the Russian invasion to the Space X’s Mars expeditions and the rocket launcher attacks to the company’s ambitions satellite launch programs. His intention was not to equate the company with the country wrongly, but to indirectly highlight the fact a technology can be used both in a good way and in a wrong way. The comment was repeatedly shared and became a viral content instantly.
Importantly, there was a call for action in the same tweet. The way the SpaceX reached to the call was the one which helped the company to catch the headlines.The Ukranian minister requested Elon Musk to offer the service of Starlink. He claimed that the service was necessary to overcome the problems in the access to communication (internet) created due to the destructive military actions initiated against them by their rival as part of the ongoing war. SpaceX responded immediately, appreciating the request. In few hours, it made the innovative satellite internet system active in the country, assuring indirectly they would not let the aggressor push the defending power to a communication blackhole.
It is highly appreciable that even in the middle of dismay the Ukraine government has brought in a new technology. It is true that a crisis normally paves the way for an innovation. Still, the Ukranian action is of great relevance, especially when it is viewed through the glass of technology or innovation.Clearly speaking, the Ukrainian government has successfully defeated a serious military crisis with an innovative solution.For the brilliance, Ukraine deserves appreciation, and Elon Musk, for his humane reaction to the call for action.
Starlink is the talk of the hour. Though at present it is being discussed for its role in the restoration of the Ukraine communication framework, in future it is likely to become a great sensation for numerous other reasons. Primarily, it will redefine the entire concept of internet connectivity.
Internet Of Things is the biggest possibility the world expects to embrace in the near future. If said rightly, without constellations of communication satellites it is almost impossible to implement the said idea in the depth it demands truly. Constellations of communication satellites will undisputedly bring internet to every nook and corner of the earth, and thus will successfully attach every device to the network.The promoted technological revolution is not without the risk element. Like many other innovative ideas, it also comes with a set of serious risk element. Astronomers have already expressed their disinterest towards the idea of covering the lower orbit of the earth with a disturbing blanket of satellites. Primarily, they think it would indirectly obstruct their task of observing the space, specifically, the stars and planets situated in the space. They also strongly highlight the issue of light pollution.
“Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.” – Elon Musk.
Vignesh Padamattingal
