SpaceX operates two separate satellite networks: Starlink, a commercial service with over 11,000 broadband and mobile satellites in orbit, and Starshield, a military network announced in December 2022 for U.S. national security customers.
Both networks use similar satellite buses, but Starshield satellites carry additional hardware and secure software for military applications. Starshield includes spy satellites launched for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office, military data satellites, and encrypted communications terminals for ground users. The networks can interoperate, allowing Starshield satellites to use the Starlink network when needed, though this access is restricted to U.S. national security users only.
In October 2026, Ukrainian drone operators using Starshield terminals experienced connectivity loss at speeds above 160 kilometers per hour for more than a week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said full connectivity was restored on October 24. The incident raised questions about operational control of the system.
The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion contract to build the Space Data Network Backbone using Starshield satellites, intended to move data between missile-warning sensors and interceptors as part of the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile defense plan. A prototype is due by the end of 2027.
Control of Starshield remains unclear. The U.S. government is the customer and sometimes the owner, while SpaceX builds and operates the satellites. Bleddyn Bowen, associate professor of astropolitics at Durham University, compared the arrangement to the U.K.'s Skynet system, where contractors perform operations under military oversight.