SpaceX confirmed Wednesday that it is leasing Starlink kits and service to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for free but denied any push to take over Verizon’s contract to build an updated communications system for the agency.
Elon Musk’s space technology company said it is working with L3Harris, the current contractor for the FAA’s telecommunications infrastructure, to test Starlink “as one piece of the infrastructure upgrades so badly needed along with fiber, wireless, and other technologies.”
“Starlink is a possible partial fix to an aging system. There is no effort or intent for Starlink to ‘take over’ any existing contract,” SpaceX said in a post on X, which is also owned by Musk.
“Beyond this initial testing deployment, SpaceX is working with L3Harris and the FAA to identify instances where Starlink could serve as a long-term infrastructure upgrade for aviation safety,” it added.
The company’s comments come after reports emerged last week that the FAA was considering cancelling Verizon’s $2.4 billion contract to revamp the agency’s telecommunications system and awarding it to Musk’s Starlink instead.
Musk himself publicly criticized Verizon before realizing it was not responsible for the current system.
“To be clear here, the Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly,” he wrote on X last week. “The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk.”
He later clarified that “the ancient system that is rapidly declining in capability was made L3Harris.”
The prospect of Starlink taking over the Verizon contract raised conflict of interest concerns given Musk’s expansive role in the Trump administration, leading the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) cost-cutting efforts.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in early February that the DOGE team was “going to plug in to help upgrade our aviation system.”
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) pressed the Senate Commerce Committee on Monday to bring Musk and acting FAA chief Chris Rocheleau in to testify about air traffic control technology in the face of several recent crashes and near-misses involving airplanes.
“Given Musk’s far-reaching role within the U.S. government and his recent involvement with the FAA’s information technology systems, Musk’s comments could understandably cause panic among air travelers,” Markey wrote in a letter to Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the panel’s chair and ranking member.
“Although the FAA’s information technology systems need modernization, Musk’s alarmist rhetoric appears extreme,” he added.
