The Pentagon has awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX its first confirmed contract for the Starshield network it’s developing, a military-specific version of the company’s Starlink satellite internet system, the defense agency said Wednesday.

A Space Force spokesperson confirmed that SpaceX on Sept. 1 was awarded a one-year contract for Starshield with a maximum value of $70 million. The award came alongside 18 other companies through a program run by the Space Force’s commercial satellite communications office.

“The SpaceX contract provides for Starshield end-to-end service (via the Starlink constellation), user terminals, ancillary equipment, network management and other related services,” Space Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek told CNBC.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    21
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Maybe it’s a trap. Perhaps its harder to punish musk for his Ukraine shortcomings, but if he decideds to fuck up under federal contract with the MIC of the US government . . .

    I only think of this because I cant imagine the pentagon thinks highly of him, hes a borderline (possibly unwitting) russian apologist at best and asset at worst. Usually Im not so sure bad things happen to rich people, but crossing the MIC would probably be the line that does it if anything does.

    • Cyrus Draegur
      link
      fedilink
      English
      81 year ago

      I’m sure the US government would love nothing more than to smash musk open like a piggy bank and annex everything he owns through some mix of civil asset forfeiture and eminent domain on sloppily and carelessly assembled rhetorical basis that boils down to “because we say so,” and also “what are you going to do about it anyway loser, we have nukes” plus furthermore “you can’t possibly pretend like this dipshit didn’t have it coming. If one does not wish to find out, one should not fuck around”

      • @NOT_RICK
        link
        English
        61 year ago

        They don’t need to make up a basis to take over his stuff, it already exists and has existed for almost 75 years. They’d just tie his hands with the defense production act if push came to shove. They could then just lock Elon up if he refused to do what he was told.

    • @dangblingus
      link
      71 year ago

      He’s an intentional Russia apologist. Period. You don’t get to be the richest person on Earth and not be invited to a few private meetings with international leaders. He regularly promotes the idea that Ukraine is evil and Russia is doing good on Twitter.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        5
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        I have a conspiracy theory that Musk utilized Russian troll farms to hype up his pump and dump scheems when those were his big thing. That would explain the meetings with Putin, the proclivity to do what Putin says, and his purchase of twitter under the guise of removing the bots and free speech then not removing the bots. He probably just removed the evidence.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      41 year ago

      That kinda makes sense.

      Sanctions only work because of pre-existing trade with unscrupulous powers. Similar logic.