theSIGNAL SCIENCE
29 October 2026
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, and from power."
NEWSBUSINESSTECHNOLOGYWORLDSCIENCECULTUREENVIRONMENTSPORT
Science

Putin Calls Musk a Genius. Why Flatter a Rival?

As Russia races to build its own satellite network, its president praised the man whose switch can dim Ukraine's battlefield.

Here is a strange scene. In Moscow, surrounded by African leaders, Vladimir Putin stops to praise an American billionaire. "Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius," he said, according to the Tass news agency. Why would a wartime president hand out compliments to the owner of his enemy's favourite technology?

Look at the numbers, and the flattery begins to make sense. Putin said Musk has "more than 5,000" satellites in orbit, though the true figure for active SpaceX craft is estimated at about 10,000. Russia's answer, a constellation called Rassvet, is in its "first steps". Outside analysts estimate it has roughly 26 working satellites.

That is not a rivalry. It is a gap the size of a sky. The gap matters because Starlink is no longer only about streaming video. In mid-October, its military version, Starshield, was suddenly restricted one night in Ukraine.

Photo: Shakti Rajpurohit / Unsplash
A string of small satellites crosses the night sky above a dark horizon.
Discuss
  • Why might Putin praise Musk publicly while Russia is fighting a war against a country that depends on Starlink?
  • Putin said Musk has 5,000 satellites, but the real estimate is about 10,000. Why might the figure be understated?
  • Starshield was restricted for about ten days in Ukraine. What does this show about relying on a private company in wartime?
Science

Tiny Crystals Ride Around the Moon

More than 10,000 tiny crystals flew around the Moon in 2022, strapped inside two mannequins. Why? Radiation. Polish physicists in Cracow supplied crystals that record particle tracks, like film, and later glow red under blue light. Early readings suggest lunar-trip radiation differs from low Earth orbit in unexpected ways.…
  • If crystals can map invisible radiation, what else might they reveal about astronaut safety?
∞
Elon Musk is a genius, a true genius.
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
Science

Earth's Magma Was Hiding Extra Oxygen

Oxygen makes up more than half the atoms in Earth's silicate interior, yet textbooks said molten rock could hold only a fixed amount, set by its other elements. Wrong, it seems. Using crushing pressures and computer simulations, researchers led by Yanhao Lin and Ho-kwang Mao found that magma can absorb surplus oxygen.…
  • If magma once released stored oxygen, how much credit should volcanoes get for our atmosphere?
GLOBAL · Science
Astronomers may have discovered the first moon beyond our Solar System
AMERICAS · Science
Smithsonian scientists just recreated the first 2 billion years of the Universe
WORLD · Science
Exercise doesn't just strengthen your heart. It rewires it
EUROPE · Science
‘It’s magic’: scientists rediscover how to make ancient Roman colour-changing glass
theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
1VOCABULARY
constellationthrottling
loopholehamperedcourts
preliminarysurplus
2GRAMMAR FOCUS
Third conditional — hypothetical past
Use the third conditional to talk about unreal situations in the past and their imagined results: if + past perfect, would/could/might + have + past participle.
had · hadn't · would · wouldn't · have · been · could
  1. If Musk restricted Starshield that night, Ukrainian drone defences would not have been hampered.
  2. If Russia's Rassvet network had been larger, Putin have needed to praise Musk so warmly.
  3. Zelenskyy might not have announced the restoration of operations if the service been switched back on.
  4. If Musk had not closed the loophole, the Ukrainian military have kept using the civilian service.
  5. Putin have called Musk a genius if Russia had matched SpaceX's satellite numbers.
  6. If the Polish physicists supplied their crystals, the mannequins would have flown around the Moon without radiation detectors.
3PHRASAL VERBS
Match the phrasal verb to its definition. All six appear in today’s articles.
  1. hand out (as in 'hand out compliments')
  2. make sense (as in 'the flattery begins to make sense')
  3. ride around (as in 'crystals ride around the Moon')
  4. make up (as in 'oxygen makes up more than half the atoms')
  5. close down (as in 'he had closed a loophole'; in related usage, to shut something off)
4CRITICAL THINKING
Both the Starlink story and the magma story overturn something people assumed was fixed: that a military's communications belong to the state, and that rock can hold only a set amount of oxygen. Which assumption was more dangerous to hold, and what does each case suggest about how we should treat 'settled' knowledge? Consider who benefits from an assumption staying unquestioned.
5CREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the top story in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
6WRITING
Imagine you are an adviser to a smaller country that wants its own satellite network but has a modest budget. Write a short memo (about 120 words) recommending one strategy, and explain which risk from the articles worries you most.
7DEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong.
  • a surprising gesture→→
  • a noticeable gap→→
  • slightly restricted→→
  • a small concern→→
  • somewhat unexpected→→
  • a good scientist→→
8SPEAKING
  1. Is flattery ever a smart tool in politics, or always manipulation?
  2. Which would worry you more: space radiation or space debris? Why?
  3. Would you accept a one-way trip to the Moon? Explain your reasons.
  4. Which discoveries about Earth's origins would you most like to see solved?