THE BROMANCE GOES ORBITAL! Russian President Vladimir Putin called Elon Musk “a genius, a real genius” on Wednesday and said the two sides are in “close” contact about satellite technology, the BBC reported.
Putin made the remarks at the Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow while touting Rassvet, Russia’s own satellite internet project. “We are in close contact with our American partners, including Mr. Musk,” he said, adding that the contact keeps Rassvet and Starlink satellites from interfering with each other in orbit. SpaceX did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.
The scoreboard isn’t close. Starlink says it has launched roughly 13,000 satellites; online trackers show only a couple of dozen Rassvet satellites in orbit. Russia’s embassy in South Africa called Rassvet “Russia’s Starlink alternative” and said it marks only the country’s first steps.
The timing stings. Ukraine has relied on Starlink to hold off Russian forces, but its military suffered sudden Starlink connectivity problems last week, which Musk has admitted SpaceX did intentionally.
It all lands as Washington and Moscow appear to be warming up: President Trump said this month he’d struck a deal to import Russian diesel, waived certain sanctions, and a US citizen was then freed from Russian custody.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
Sources: BBC News
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