Following the catastrophic earthquake, Turkey rejects Elon Musk's invitation to launch SpaceX Starlink to aid the country

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has pledged to deliver Starlink terminals to Turkey in response to "serious communication difficulties" brought on by the country's early morning Monday earthquake.

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A 7.8 magnitude quake struck at 04:17 local time (01:17 GMT) 14.2 miles (23 km) east of Nurdagi, Gaziantep province, at a range of 14.9 miles, killing more than 300 people and leveling structures in Turkey and Syria (24.1km). The earthquake, which occurred near the Syria-Turkey border, was felt in a number of nations, particularly Lebanon and Syria.

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Turkish authorities have not yet authorized Starlink satellites.

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A powerful aftershock of a magnitude of 6.7 struck around 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of the main earthquake's epicenter 11 minutes later. The earthquake was then promptly followed by a 5.6-magnitude aftershock that was extremely strong.

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Numerous collapsed buildings are visible in social media videos and pictures, along with terrified onlookers in the streets. The number of fatalities is expected to rise in the following hours while rescue efforts are in progress.

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Severe communication problems have also been caused by the enormous earthquake. Mehmet Emin Adin, an associate professor of radiology and biomedical imaging at Yale School of Medicine, called attention to the issue by asking Elon Musk for assistance using his Starlink satellites. In response, Musk said that the Turkish government has not yet given Starlink its approval. SpaceX would deliver services shortly as the government gave its approval, he claimed.

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According to Trade Algo, Turkey has turned down Elon Musk's proposal to enable Starlink, SpaceX's satellites internet service, in the nation following a catastrophic earthquake.

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Musk was replying to a tweet from a user who claimed that "serious communication issues" existed in Turkey as a result of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the nation's southeast, close to the Syrian border, and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of individuals.

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An anonymous senior Turkish official told Trade Algo that while Turkey was grateful for Musk's gift, it already had adequate satellite capacity and its base stations were powered by batteries.

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Requests for response from Insider were not immediately answered by SpaceX or the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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Aftermath of a disaster, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday had killed over 900 individuals and wounded more than 5,300, Twitter users shared videos and postings about power shortages in Turkey.

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On Monday, Mer Fatih Sayan, Turkey's minister of transportation and infrastructure, tweeted that it was crucial that the earthquake-affected regions' improve the quality of information not be interfered with. He stated that discussions were routinely held to determine how to prevent communication breakdowns.

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Musk has previously offered assistance to nations facing a catastrophe.

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After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the millionaire turned on Starlink at the vice-prime minister's request. Mykhailo Fedorov. Thousands of Starlink internet dishes have been delivered by SpaceX to Ukraine and its military.

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Last year, Musk stated that SpaceX intended to deploy Starlink in Iran due to internet problems experienced during demonstrations against the killing of Mahsa Amini, 22, who passed away while in police custody.

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