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Taiwan Seeking to Create Satellite Constellation Similar to Elon Musk’s Starlink: Report

SpaceX Starlink satellitesSpaceX Starlink satellites - Sputnik International, 1920, 06.01.2023InternationalIndiaAfricaMOSCOW (Sputnik) – Taiwan is looking for investors to create its own satellite communications provider, inspired by the work of Elon Musk’s Starlink in Ukraine, to repel China’s possible attacks, a British newspaper reported on Friday, citing three people familiar with the matter. According to the report, Taipei is currently in talks with a few domestic and international investors to raise funds for the project, with Taiwan Space Agency (TASA) eyeing to use its existing satellite division for the project. “We are going to spin our low-Earth orbit satellite communications project off into a company,” a senior official at TASA told the media. Audrey Tang, the digital minister of Taiwan, said the project was inspired by Starlink. The minister added that it would take several years to bring the project to life. This March 27, 2008, file photo, shows the Pentagon in Washington. The Pentagon said Tuesday, July 6, 2021, that it is canceling a cloud-computing contract with Microsoft that could eventually have been worth $10 billion and will instead pursue a deal with both Microsoft and Amazon. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) - Sputnik International, 1920, 18.10.2022Science & TechPentagon Confirms Considering Paying for Starlink Services in Ukraine – Spokesperson18 October 2022, 00:10 GMTSpaceX seeks to operate a network of 29,988 non-geostationary orbit satellites for its Starlink constellation, which provides internet to areas with little to no access. Starlink currently has some 3,500 satellites active in low-Earth orbit. Starlink has been playing a key role in helping Ukraine’s military to operate and communicate on the battlefield, however, in September, SpaceX sent a letter to the US Defense Department requesting funding for the Starlink systems in Ukraine, claiming it could no longer pay for the service out of pocket. Musk later withdrew the request.

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