Starlink still jammed near Ukraine
March 8, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Elon Musk’s Starlink broadband satellite service continues to be jammed over “conflict areas” according to SpaceX.
The problem is forcing Starlink to be “reprioritised to cyber defense & overcoming signal jamming” said Musk in a Tweet. Musk added that a recent software update helped bypass the jamming, saying: “Some Starlink terminals near conflict areas were being jammed for several hours at a time. Our latest software update bypasses the jamming.”
SpaceX has supplied Starlink terminals to Ukrainian users and deliberately adjusted the Starlink’s modem to use less power and thus enable usage from a car’s cigarette lighter and to enable vehicle-based roaming.
Musk also Tweeted advising users to be cautious, saying: “Starlink is the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine, so probability of being targeted is high. Please use with caution. Turn on Starlink only when needed and place antenna away as far away from people as possible.”
SpaceX will launch another batch of Starlink broadband satellites on March 8th or March 9th depending on local weather at its Florida launch site. As this is written the plan is to launch at 14.06pm UTC on March 8th. It will be the company’s fourth launch in just two weeks.