\n<\/p>\n
SpaceX won its first contract for Starshield, the defense-focused version of its Starlink satellite internet service, from the U.S. Space Force.<\/p>\n
The one-year contract has a maximum value of $70 million, a U.S. Air Force representative told Bloomberg.<\/a> The contract \u201cprovides for Starshield end-to-end service via the Starlink constellation, user terminals, ancillary equipment, network management and other related services,\u201d the representative said. It was awarded on September 1.<\/p>\n SpaceX will be obligated $15 million by the end of this month, and the contract is expected to support over 50 mission partners across all arms of the U.S. military.<\/p>\n Satellite-based communications systems \u2013 and Starlink in particular \u2013 were thrown into the spotlight during the early months of Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, when SpaceX activated the service in Ukraine and sent large shipments of the Starlink terminals for use by civilians and the Ukrainian military.<\/p>\n But Starlink\u2019s role in Ukrainian defense was contested, especially by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk himself. While Musk seemed to support sending Starlink terminals to the Ukranian military at first, it was later revealed that he refused to activate<\/a> the service when Ukraine requested prior to a planned attack on Russia\u2019s navy.<\/p>\n Starshield, announced last December, will hopefully clear up much of the ambiguity around using a commercial service in war operations. When the company announced Starshield, it noted on its website that the service \u201cleverages SpaceX\u2019s Starlink technology and launch capability to support national security efforts,\u201d though providing scant other details.<\/p>\n Starlink needs to be a civilian network, not a participant to combat.<\/p>\n Starshield will be owned by the US government and controlled by DoD Space Force.<\/p>\n This is the right order of things.<\/p>\n\n