SpaceX announces Starshield, expanding Starlink for military and government applications, initially focusing on imagery, communications, and “hosted payloads” (Michael Sheetz/CNBC)

Michael Sheetz / CNBC:
SpaceX gets FCC approval to deploy up to 7,500 next-generation Starlink internet satellites in low Earth orbit; SpaceX had applied for nearly 30K satellites  —  – The FCC issued a key authorization to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, granting approval to launch up to 7,500 of its next-generation Starlink internet satellites.

Lora Kolodny / CNBC:
Sources and docs: Elon Musk’s SpaceX orders a large Twitter ad package, promoting Starlink in a “takeover” in Spain and Australia that can cost $250K+ per day  —  – Elon Musk’s aerospace business SpaceX just ordered one of the larger advertising packages available from Twitter …

Ashley Capoot / CNBC:
Elon Musk claims SpaceX will “just keep funding Ukraine govt for free” even though the Starlink service is still losing money  —  – Elon Musk said in a tweet Saturday that his company SpaceX would continue to fund Starlink satellite internet terminals for the Ukrainian government as it battles invading Russian forces.

Alex Marquardt / CNN:
Documents: SpaceX told the Pentagon it can’t donate more Starlink terminals to Ukraine or keep funding the service there, asking the Pentagon to provide funding  —  Since they first started arriving in Ukraine last spring, the Starlink satellite internet terminals made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX …

Adele Peters / Fast Company:
GiveDirectly and Google.org are using AI mapping and satellite imagery to find low-income hurricane survivors in Puerto Rico and Florida and send cash payments  —  Storms worsen inequality.  These $700 cash payments can help lessen the blow.  —  After a disaster like Hurricane Ian …

Victoria Song / The Verge:
Hands-on with Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite, rolling out now: the feature works well, texting via satellite takes a while, and users should try the demo  —  You don’t have to hold your arm up to get a signal, though there is a lot of turning around and waiting when trying to connect to satellites.