SpaceX Ventures Into Military Applications With Starshield

Foreign media reported on January 19th that SpaceX is expanding the Starlink satellite technology to the military field and developing a new product line called Starshield that goes beyond the commercial field, as the Starlink satellite constellation in low Earth orbit meets the growing needs of U.S. defense and intelligence agencies. Unlike Starlink which was designed for consumer and commercial use, Starshield mainly provides services such as earth observation, secure communication and payload hosting for the military and government departments. With the main purpose of cooperating with the space and communication services of the defense and intelligence agencies. The Starlink system works well in the Ukraine-Russia theater, and it plays a key role in communication. It can even withstand the enemy’s electromagnetic and network attacks. It is rarely disconnected or hacked, which is far beyond what the US military expected. So the U.S. Air Force has also purchased Starlink communications services to support troops in Europe and Africa. SpaceX launched the Starshield service at the end of last year based on its confidence in the Starlink system and drawing on its successful experience in the Russia-Ukraine War. According to reports, Starshield can provide Earth observation data, secure communication through inter-satellite laser links, and satellite buses for hosting “the most demanding customer payload missions.” SpaceX has the professional ability to construct large-scale mass-produced precision satellites, which means that in the future, Starshield may use tailor-made Starlink satellites and antennas, and can provide related services to customers through purchase or lease contracts.