International Tech billionaire; Elon Musk has offered to provide Starlink internet to Tonga after a massive underwater volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami took the service offline this week.
Musk’s offer of assistance a report followed It could take a month or more to fully restore internet connectivity for Tonga and its approximately 105,000 residents. The natural disaster damaged Tonga’s lone underwater communication cable.
“Can the people of Tonga tell us whether it’s important for SpaceX to ship to Starlink terminals?” Musk tweeted.
Musk’s SpaceX operates more than 1,400 satellites operating as part of its Starlink broadband internet system — with plans to launch tens of thousands more. The fledgling service, which exited its beta phase last November, aims to provide expanded, low-cost access to high-speed broadband Internet in remote areas.
New Zealand’s Member of Parliament Shane Ratey shared a letter online in which he asked Musk to “immediately provide Starlink Internet communications to public officials and the good people of Tonga in this moment of need.”
Musk indicated that he would need confirmation from officials in Tonga before proceeding with the Starlink rollout.
“It’s hard for us to do right now, because we don’t have enough satellites with laser links and already have Geosats serving the Tonga region,” Musk tweeted. “That’s why I’m asking for a clear confirmation.”
An underwater volcano near Tonga erupted with a force of “about 10 megatons of TNT equivalent,” said James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. told NPR,
Musk’s Starlink initiative has drawn more scrutiny on the global stage in recent months. Critics have accused SpaceX of effectively causing orbital traffic jams with its satellite launch.
European Space Agency director general Joseph Aschbacher said Musk was “making the rules” in space at the expense of rivals.
“You own half the world’s active satellites,” Ashbacher said.