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The State Department has enlisted Starlink, the satellite internet service run by the Elon Musk company SpaceX, to support its staff in Jamaica in the event that Hurricane Melissa, a category 5 storm that made landfall Tuesday, disrupts communications on the island nation, the agency says. We have pre-provisioned Starlink in Jamaica and will use it for communications if necessary, a spokesperson for the agency said Tuesday night. If the damage is as bad as expected, the agency is likely to use the service for live service in Jamaica, another State Department official told Fast Company.On-location agency staff are likely to use Starshield — a version of the Starlink service tailored for national-security applications — at the embassy, the second official says. The consumer service Starlink might be used by smaller teams who may need to travel within the country, the person added. The move shows how critical satellite-based internet has become in natural disasters, particularly when ground-based communications services go offline. And it also demonstrates just how much the U.S. government has come to rely on technology made by Elon Musk’s SpaceX’s technology, which now includes everything from rocket launch services to consumer satellite internet. The State Department is one of a growing number of US government agencies, including the National Science Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security, now using Starlink for a variety of purposes as varied as videocalling, real-time data support, and research in Antarctica. As SpaceX has ramped up sales of Starlink to the government, it has also built Starshield, a national-security-related service used within the Defense Department. The State Department has bought both services, deploying the SpaceX technology at several embassies. (The relationship between the two services has been murky. A Starlink outage earlier this summer also took Starshield offline.) Relatedly, SpaceX often offers free Starlink services during emergencies. When asked what the company was doing to prepare for Hurricane Melissa, the companys media team directed Fast Company to an announcement explaining that people in Jamaica and the Bahamas could receive free service until the end of November. Customers who had already set up accounts, even those that were paused or suspended, will automatically receive a free credit, while those hoping to sign up for the first time can create a support ticket, the company says. While Starlink service can be a life-saving tool during an emergency, critics have raised concerns about the U.S. governments growing dependence on the technology — as well as on Musks influence on SpaceX. Earlier this year, for instance, Musk ordered that some Starlink terminals used by Ukrainian forces be taken offline amid their attempt to retake territory from Russia, Reuters reported.
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E-Commerce
NASA wants to reopen competition on its moon lander, a multi-billion-dollar contract for a new space vehicle that will help support one of Americas most ambitious missions yet: going back to the moon — and for good. The space agencys decision to reopen the contract for the Artemis mission moon lander renews competition between SpaceX, which had previously won the award, and Blue Origin, Jeff Bezoss space startup. But it also sets off a competition between Texas and Washington, the two companies respective home states. Politicians long fought over American space spending, as Fast Company explained a while back. But its not clear where they stand, at least for now. Several congressional offices that would be impacted by the space agency opening up the contract did not respond to a request for comment, including the office of Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn (the Texas delegation), as well as the Republican and Democratic sides of the Commerce Committee, whose portfolio includes space issues. A spokesperson for Rep. Vincente Gonzalez, the congressman who represents Starbase, Texas where SpaceX is testing its heavy launch vehicle Starship didnt respond to a request for comment. The office of Sen. Maria Cantwell, who represents Washington and frequently touts Blue Origin, also did not respond. Congressional delegations have previously advocated for Artemis contracts to come to their states. Back when SpaceX first won the lunar lander contract, Cantwell pushed for NASA to give a second company a lunar contract, including through legislation. Even amid doubts with SpaceX, Cruz, who represents SpaceX homestate Texas, has said its too late for the U.S. to leave Starship behind. The size of a small building, Starship is the platform that Elon Musk thinks will bring humanity to Mars. Its also the vehicle that, for several years, NASA has been planning to use for an earlier phase of the Artemis program. (The Artemis 3 mission that SpaceX is supposed to work on, currently scheduled for late 2027, will involve a weekslong stay on the lunar surface, though NASA has ambitions for returning to the moon in later years, including to build a lunar base camp). The challenge is that Starship a key part of this plan has suffered failures during several recent test flights. And now, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is complaining that SpaceX is behind schedule. A NASA panel said as much in September. Blue Origin still has a lot catching up to do. The company has yet to build a similarly large low Earth orbit satellite network, or to send manned space missions into orbit. (The company has accomplished suborbital flights). But Blue Origin has also won lunar lander work from NASA for the Artemis V mission, a later phase of the new moon program. In the past, NASA has expressed interest in maintaining at least two options in order to ensure a regular cadence of Moon landings, a NASA official said when the government announced an award for Blue Origins lunar platform, which the company calls Blue Moon. Theres also Lockheed Martin, which might also put its hat in the ring. Of course, its unclear what might be going on between policymakers privately, or whether the rift between Elon Musk and the Trump administration has settled. Another factor is growing concern that the U.S. is falling behind China on lunar ambitions. Secretary Duffy has also said that Trump wants some kind of lunar accomplishment before he leaves office. In the meantime, much of NASA is closed because of the government shutdown.
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E-Commerce
After Zohran Mamdani’s campaign aired a commercial that used a Knicks-style campaign logo that wrote out “Zohran” over an image of a basketball, the NBA team asked them to take it down. The Mamdani ad, which aired during the New York Knicks’s opening game last week, shows black-and-white footage of a pick-up basketball game in a park as the narrator says “New York, this is our year.” There’s shots of Mamdani campaigning interspersed with the pick-up game, and the narrator says “Things can be different. Hope is back,” before the Knicks-style logo flashes on the screen over the sound of drums. [Images: New York Knicks, Zohran for NYC] The Knicks, whose owner donated last year to Mayor Eric Adams, weren’t happy with the knock-off logo and sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Mamdani campaign asking them to knock it off, according to The New York Post, which first reported the letter. The campaign says it will comply and pulled the ads on Friday. The Mamdani campaign said it was adjusting the ad, and “while the Knicks might not be able to publicly support our campaign, were proud to publicly support our NY Knicks,” campaign spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement. But it’s not the first campaign to lean on the visual tropes of beloved brand to attempt to say something about hometown pride or a candidate’s values in a single image. Before Mamdani’s Knicks logo, there’s been a history of branding knock-offs In 2022, Tim Short, a Republican state legislative candidate used a logo designed to look like the Fox News logo, searchlights and all, but the searchlights were later taken off without explanation. That same year, Matt Jenkins, a Democrat and U.S. House candidate in New Jersey, was hit with a cease-and-desist letter from Wawa, after the convenience store chain noticed the similarities between the bird in his campaign’s logo and theirs. Jenkins said in a social media post at the time that the design was intentional. “For a lot of people in our district, Wawa represents them. When we launched this race to replace Chris Smith, I wanted our logo to feel instantly familiar,” he wrote. And that’s what these knock-off logos are meant to signal. By leaning on a familiar logo, they visually convey that a candidate is “one of us,” as if to say, this candidate is a Knicks/Fox News/Wawa/[enter brand name here] fan, just like you. [Images: Cambell’s, Campbell for Congress] Visual parody doesn’t equal a winning brand Brands, though, are quick to distance themselves. After a U.S. House candidate in Michigan with the last name Campbell refused to comply with a cease-and-desist letter from the Campbell’s Company over the candidate’s logo designed like one of its soup cans, the company filed suit this month. Claiming her actions “are not innocent parody but are designed to capitalize on Campbells iconic brand and associate one of the countrys most famous and enduring brands with her political campaign,” the company said her rip-off logo confused customers. While campaigns can’t use knock-off logos without inviting potential legal action, that doesn’t mean some won’t try. By designing logos based on popular brands, campaigns hope some of that brand magic will rub off at the ballot box. But would-be copycats, take note: While Mamdani, with his own distinctive campaign logo may well be an exception, other recent candidates who’ve used major brand logos haven’t fared well. In Georgia, Short’s short-lived Fox News logo didn’t help him win the Republican primary. Jenkins rebranded to a bird-less logo and lost. Sometimes it’s better to come up with your own idea.
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E-Commerce
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