Cybernews by Vilius Petkauskas 11/22/2023
The meteoric rise of Elon Musk’s space venture, SpaceX, has seen it join forces with the US military. The launch of Starshield, Starlink’s military-only cousin, means the commitment is for the long haul, a space security expert believes.Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, reportedly achieved breakeven cash flow, pushing the company’s valuation to $150 billion.
With over 4,400 operational satellites, Starlink will remain the market leader for years to come. However, SpaceX has also made several launches under the Starshield program, specifically designed to host payloads for military or government purposes.
Announced in late 2022, when the war in Ukraine revealed Starlink’s importance in modern warfare, Starshield satellites have become compatible and interoperable with the Starlink constellation. The program has already got a contract to service the US Space Force.
However, the distinction between Starlink and Starshield may be somewhat artificial. According to Victoria Samson, a space security expert and the Washington office director for Secure World Foundation, Starlink has become so essential that not having a military program may put a target on its back.
Why would SpaceX opt to have a program like Starshield?.It was a big deal when they announced Starshield. But there wasn’t a lot of information about it. The contract that was recently announced, I think, was one of the first contracts Starshield has actually gotten. The contract is with the US military – they’re required to provide military communications for the military.
More:
https://cybernews.com/tech/starshield-spacex-military-commitment-interview/
