Elon Musk's Starlink modem terminal for Ukraine has been thought to be purely from the SpaceX and Tesla boss. But reportedly, there is a role for the United States government behind the donation.
A report from the Washington Post revealed that the US government paid millions of dollars to buy terminal equipment and ship it to Ukraine. Precisely through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which spent around USD 1,500 per unit for 1,333 terminal units, or around USD 2 million.
This information was revealed in a press statement distributed by USAID in early April, which has now been amended to remove the section that mentions the purchase of the Starlink terminal.
Indeed, not all of the Starlink terminals donated to Ukraine came from USAID funds, because so far SpaceX has donated 3,667 terminals to Ukraine, or a value of around 10 million, including the cost of internet connection for three months that has been provided in the terminals sent to Ukraine. .
However, the value of the USAID report is quite strange, because the unit cost is written at USD 1,500. The problem is, currently Starlink has two types of terminals. That is a regular terminal which costs USD 600 or a more sophisticated terminal at a price of USD 2,500.
Maybe USAID bought the regular version of the terminal which costs USD 600 as well as the internet connection fee which reaches USD 110 per month for the standard package and USD 500 per month for the premium package.
The Washington Post report also said that USAID paid more than $800,000 for the delivery of 5,000 terminals to Ukraine.
In the press statement, USAID also stated that the delivery of the Starlink terminal could be realized because of the assistance of many parties, whose total contribution reached USD 15 million. (The initial press release stated that SpaceX donated USD 10 million in equipment and services).