SpaceX Gets US Contract to Expand Ukraine’s Access to Starshield
- Added Pentagon funding brings total terminals to 3,000
- Encrypted Starshield signal is difficult to hack into or jam
The contract means that 2,500 Starlink terminals already in Ukraine will get access to Starshield, a classified and encrypted signal over Starlink that’s more difficult to hack into or jam.
Photographer: Cate Dingley/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
SpaceX received a Pentagon contract to expand Ukraine’s access to a more secure, militarized version of its Starlink satellite network, deepening the company’s involvement in the conflict despite founder Elon Musk’s ambivalence over the war.
The contract means that 2,500 Starlink terminals already in Ukraine will get access to Starshield, a classified and encrypted signal over Starlink that’s more difficult to hack into or jam. That number is in addition to the 500 that were previously connected to Starshield.