SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, introduced Starshield, the military version of Starlink

SpaceX and its capabilities have become an invaluable resource for the US government. SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, is expanding its Starlink satellite technology into military applications with a new line of business called Starshield. The new brand (possibly a subsidiary) is positioned as a new high-end category on SpaceX’s website alongside Dragon, Starlink and Starship.

SpaceX is already using its solutions and satellite launch capabilities with rockets like the Falcon 9 for the US government, Pentagon and military. It is thought that the partnership with the new Starshield will become even stronger.

The company website states that “Starlink is designed for consumer and commercial use, while Starshield is designed for government use” and the slogan is “support national security”. On the other hand, there are few details about Starshield’s intended scope and capabilities, and no tests or studies have been announced.

Starshield will be used for government and military services

Promising a secure satellite network for government agencies, Starshield offers the body of the company’s spacecraft as a flexible platform for tracking, communications and customers. Starshield will also offer an “end-to-end” service. The scope of this service is so broad that SpacecX will offer ground stations for communications and a communications satellite in orbit. Therefore, an autonomous network will be operated in space.

SpaceX states that Starshield uses “additional high-security cryptographic capability to host hidden payloads and securely process data,” based on the data encryption it uses with the Starlink system.

Another key feature: the “inter-satellite laser communication” links, with which the company currently connects the Starlink spacecraft. It is stated that terminals can be added to “shared satellites” to connect government systems of other companies to the “Starshield network”.

SpaceX currently states on its Starshield page that it can offer these capabilities, but there is no official collaboration or mission information available. So it’s impossible to know exactly how far SpaceX has come in achieving the capabilities described here. As you may recall, SpaceX received a new permission from the FCC to expand the network for Starlink last week.