Copyright thenassauguardian
After providing free Starlink kits to 300 schools and the Disaster Risk Management Authority, and donating $1 million to the University of The Bahamas, space exploration company SpaceX not only provided free internet access to local Starlink users in the wake of Hurricane Melissa, but the company funded evacuation flights as well, Vice President of Launch at SpaceX Kiko Dontchev told Guardian Business recently. “It’s pretty simple, you know, we consider The Bahamas our friends, our neighbors, our partners,” Dontchev said. While the Starlink terminals and the UB donations were part of SpaceX’s negotiations with government to land Falcon 9 rocket boosters in Bahamian waters, the response in the days and hours before Hurricane Melissa made landfall were part of SpaceX’s ongoing crisis response apparatus, Dontchev said. “It was without question, as soon as we saw Melissa forming up, we were going to do whatever we could in our power to help those that were impacted,” he said “Obviously, the first step that we took was we went ahead and enabled free Starlink for any kit that’s in The Bahamas or Jamaica. “So, as long as you have a user terminal, even if you don’t have an account, it will work right now, because oftentimes communication is one of the hardest things to get going again, but yet, one of the most critical things to get going immediately when you’ve got a big storm. And we’ve seen that time and time again. So, that was the first thing we did.” Dontchev said Starlink received a call from US Charge d’Affaires Kimberly Furnish to see what else SpaceX could do for The Bahamas as the storm approached. He explained that after the call, the company partnered with a foundation run by Matt Weidman to fund, in part, evacuation flights for more than 13,000 people from the Family Islands. Dontchev said he expects this kind of partnership with The Bahamas to be long-term and ongoing. “I have more stamps on my passport from The Bahamas than anywhere else,” he said. “And, you know, when disaster strikes, we want to be as helpful as possible.” Regarding the flights, he said: “We worked directly with Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, with Director of Aviation Dr. Kenneth Romer, and also the US Charge d’Affaires Kim furnish, to make it happen. “And like I said, for us, it’s just like, when when your friends call, when your neighbors call for help, you pick up the phone and you act. And I think SpaceX, we have an uncanny ability to just move quickly and nothing really gets in our way. We don’t slow things down. We’re just trying to help people, and that’s really all that matters.” Melissa devastated parts of Jamaica and did some damage to parts of Cuba, Haiti and The Bahamas. Dontchev said some of the first reports that came out of Jamaica were as a result of Starlink’s satellite internet. He said in Jamaica they were able to turn on Starlink’s direct-to-cell mobile coverage in Jamaica, something they are not yet licensed to do in The Bahamas.
