Fortune by Anthony Capaccio and Bloomberg 12/8/2023
SpaceX’s Starlink passes Arctic military tests, paving the way for new Pentagon contracts as China and Russia eye the regionSpaceX’s Starlink satellite service successfully completed nine months of US military tests in the Arctic, potentially clearing the way for owner Elon Musk to deepen his ties with the Pentagon in a region of growing strategic competition.
The previously undisclosed testing found that StarLink to be a “reliable and high-performance communications system in the Arctic, including on-the-move applications,” Brian Beal, principal engineer with the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Integrated Capabilities Directorate, said in a statement to Bloomberg News.
The exercises, which ended in June, evaluated Starlink’s usefulness for the Pentagon’s needs, according to Beal. A SpaceX spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We tested in some very high winds and very cold temperatures,” Beal said. “That all went smoothly though. Once we got the terminals mounted securely to withstand high winds, they worked great with no issues.”
The testing suggests that Starlink has the potential to become a crucial asset in what’s becoming an increasingly important area of competition with Russia and China, which have both sought to expand their influence in the Arctic. But the region’s rough climate and remoteness limit communications through existing military satellites.
More:
https://fortune.com/2023/12/08/spacex-arctic-military-tests-pentagon-contracts/
