Elon Musk says SpaceX can launch satellites faster than Russia's anti-sat missiles: Report

Showing confidence in the ability of his aerospace company SpaceX, CEO Elon Musk has said that it can launch satellites faster than Russia can take them down. In an interview with the CEO of Axel Springer, Mathias Dopfner, Musk was asked about Russia targeting satellites including his Starlink ones, to which he said, "If you attempt to take out Starlink, this is not easy because there are 2000 satellites. That means a lot of anti-satellite missiles", Insider reported. The missiles referred to by Musk here is the anti-satellite attack by Russia a few months ago, which left a huge cloud of space debris and threatened the International Space Station (ISS) and its astronauts.

"I hope we do not have to put this to a test, but I think we can launch satellites faster than they can launch anti-satellite missiles," Musk told Insider. In addition to this, he even went on to say that the anti-sat missile test, which was carried out before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was Moscow's "message in advance". 

'Russia's RD-180 rocket engines are great', admits Musk

Addressing the issue of Russia cutting supplies of the RD-180 rocket engines to the US, Musk implied that it is not a threat to SpaceX since it does not own any Russian components. He, however, admitted the good quality of the Russian-made engines saying, "Boeing and Lockheed have strongly relied on the Russian RD-180 Engine. Which I should say, to be fair, is a great engine".

He also pointed out that both the companies are now trying to find an alternative to the engines saying, "They are hoping to move away from that in the future with engines from Blue Origin. There is also the Antares which uses the RD-180, I believe. They will not be able to fly as a result." 

'I can be helpful in conflicts': Musk

Addressing his role in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, Musk said that he "can be helpful in conflicts" through actions that would improve the probability of a good future. "I do whatever I think is most likely to ensure that the future is good for humanity. Those are the actions that I will take", he told Dopfner, as per Insider.

Musk has won the appreciation of many for activating his Starlink internet services over Ukraine after the country experienced a communication blackout following Russia's invasion on February 24.

(Image: AP)