4 incidents on the record
Satellite internet and power
Megaconstellations changed who could provide internet access to whom — and on what conditions. The record below tracks the first incidents in which satellite-delivered broadband became a foreign-policy lever.
Incidents
- Starlink, geofenced — USA · Ukraine · Russia, Feb 2023. SpaceX restricts Starlink terminals across Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory and tightens its own export-controls regime. Wagner-linked procurement networks reportedly attempt to smuggle terminals through third countries.
- Starlink, switched off — Ukraine · USA, Sept 2022. Elon Musk personally disabled Starlink coverage over Crimea to abort a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. A war was shaped by a single CEO's decision over a private network.
- Soyuz held hostage — OneWeb · Russia, Mar 2022. Russia withdrew its Soyuz launches and impounded thirty-six already-paid-for OneWeb satellites in Baikonur. The constellation had to be rebuilt at vast cost on rival Indian and American rockets.
- Galileo PRS lockout — United Kingdom · EU, Nov 2018. After Brexit, Britain — a major financial and engineering contributor to Galileo — was barred from the encrypted Public Regulated Service. The UK has since spent close to £100M studying its own sovereign GNSS replacement.