Comment by dredmorbius
2 years ago
The distinction here is that ships are built by nongovernmental private enterprises, whilst Starlink is operated by a nongovernmental private enterprise. With a somewhat volatile executive.
Which isn't unprecedented. But it's also far from the equivalence your comment suggests.
The US military already uses commercial satellite communication systems.
and commercial sensor system like 'Planet'.
and commercial cargo transport.
And lots of other stuff.