理查德·布兰森爵士批评“星盾”降速导致“乌克兰平民无谓死亡” 尽管创始人理查德·布兰森爵士抨击“星链”在乌克兰的军事网络降速，维珍航空仍将继续推广埃隆·马斯克的“星链”。周四，该航空公司表示将继续安装这套卫星WiFi系统，目前已有三分之一的客机完成了该技术的安装。
Sir Richard Branson criticised the Starshield slowdown for causing ‘Ukrainian civilians to die unnecessarily’ Credit Getty/Roberto Finizio Christopher Jasper Transport industry editor 3:01pm BST Virgin Atlantic will press on with the rollout of Elon Musk’s Starlink despite founder Sir Richard Branson’s attack on the slowdown of Starlink’s military network in Ukraine On Thursday, the airline said it would carry on installing the satellite WiFi system, having already fitted the tech to a third of its jets.
此前，该公司创始人理查德爵士批评了“星盾”——“星链”的军用版本——的运行速度。该卫星网络被降速，扰乱了乌克兰的防御系统。理查德爵士曾抨击这一举动，称降速导致“平民无谓死亡”。
It came after Sir Richard, the airline’s founder, criticised the operating speed of Starshield, the military-grade version of Starlink. The satellite network was slowed down, disrupting Ukrainian defence systems. Sir Richard had attacked the move, saying the slowdown had caused “civilians to die unnecessarily”.
“星链”尚未证实降速的原因，但有报道称，马斯克曾向唐纳德·特朗普提出限制“星盾”速度的建议，使乌克兰几乎不可能拦截俄罗斯的喷气动力无人机和导弹的密集攻击。
The cause of the slowdown has not been confirmed by Starlink, but it was reported that Mr Musk had approached Donald Trump with the proposal to cap the speed of Starshield, making it virtually impossible for Ukraine to intercept Russia’s barrages of jet-powered drones and missiles.
《华尔街日报》还报道称，降速是马斯克下令实施的，而美国国务卿马尔科·卢比奥周三表示，有关乌克兰使用“星链”的决定是SpaceX的事。
The Wall Street Journal also reported that the slowdown was ordered by Mr Musk while Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said on Wednesday that decisions regarding Ukraine’s access to Starlink were a matter for SpaceX.
马斯克早些时候表示，任何限制都是由五角大楼和白宫决定的，而特朗普则表示他不知道谁应对降速负责。
Mr Musk said earlier on that any curbs were decided by the Pentagon and the White House and Mr Trump said he did not know who was responsible for the slowdown.
当被问及鉴于有关马斯克角色的爆料，这位亿万富翁是否会重新审视维珍与“星链”的关系时，理查德爵士的发言人表示，这位企业家不愿在其先前的评论之外再作补充。
Asked whether the billionaire would review Virgin’s relationship with Starlink in light of the revelations regarding Mr Musk’s role, Sir Richard’s spokesman said the entrepreneur did not wish to add to his previous comments.
维珍航空表示，其所有空客A350飞机均已配备高速WiFi，最近已开始在其波音787飞机上安装。
Virgin Atlantic said all of its Airbus A350 planes had been equipped with the high-speed Wi-Fi and that installation had recently started on its Boeing 787 planes.
理查德爵士也陷入了尴尬的境地：在马斯克对维珍大西洋航空（Virgin Atlantic）的首席执行官埃德·巴斯蒂安（Ed Bastian）大发雷霆之后，理查德爵士的处境变得更加微妙。埃德·巴斯蒂安持有维珍大西洋航空49%的股份。
Sir Richard has also been placed in a difficult position after Mr Musk lashed out at Ed Bastian, the chief executive of Delta Air Lines, a 49pc shareholder in Virgin Atlantic.
马斯克上个月表示，由于巴斯蒂安选择使用亚马逊的竞争对手Leo Wi-Fi系统而非SpaceX的Starlink系统来为维珍大西洋航空的500架飞机提供通信服务，他“可能会失去自己的工作”。此前，理查德爵士和马斯克曾因各自在太空领域的竞争项目而互相批评，但后来他们的关系逐渐转变为一种“技术上的友好竞争关系”。
The SpaceX founder said last month that Mr Bastian stood to “lose his job” after selecting Amazon’s rival Leo Wi-Fi system over Starlink to equip 500 Delta planes starting in 2028 Sir Richard and Mr Musk previously sniped at each other over rival space ventures, but their relationship evolved into a tech-bromance.
2021年，马斯克在理查德爵士即将乘坐维珍银河航空（Virgin Galactic）的飞船进入太空的前夕，突然造访了他在新墨西哥州的公寓，向他表示祝贺。理查德爵士随后在社交媒体上发布了一张照片，并配文写道：“与朋友一起开始新的一天，真是美好的方式。”英国航空公司（British Airways）也表示，他们将继续推进Starlink通信系统的安装工作；该公司已成为英国首家采用该技术的航空公司。
Mr Musk made a surprise early morning visit to Sir Richard’s New Mexico apartment in 2021 to wish him well on the eve of his flight into space with Virgin Galactic. Sir Richard later posted a photo on social media captioned: “Great way to start the morning with a friend.”British Airways also said it was forging ahead with the installation of Starlink after being the first UK airline to fit the technology.