The Federal Aviation Administration has started testing the use of SpaceX Starlink satellite internet terminals in the national airspace system, nearly two years after Verizon was awarded a $2 billion contract to perform similar work.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk claimed on his social media platform X that the Verizon system “is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk.”
A spokesperson for Verizon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news, first reported by Bloomberg, comes just a few weeks after new U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Musk and his so-called “Department of Government Efficiency” were going to help “upgrade” the air traffic control system.
The FAA explained in a statement Monday that Alaska has long had issues with reliable weather information for the aviation community.
“The 2024 FAA Reauthorization request the FAA to fix telecommunications connections to address those needs,” the statement posted on X reads. “That is why the FAA has been considering the use of Starlink since the prior administration to increase reliability at remote sites, including in Alaska.”
The agency also confirmed it is testing one terminal at its facility in Atlantic City and two terminals at non-safety critical sites in Alaska.
Musk has spent the last month hacking away at the inner workings of the federal government with help from a cadre of workers, many of whom come from his ecosystem of companies, including SpaceX and Tesla. The workers at DOGE have gained access to multiple federal agencies that regulate Musk’s companies, and some that — as far as we know — are still performing ongoing investigations into those businesses.
President Donald Trump has claimed Musk will self-police any conflicts of interest, meaning no agency or person is evaluating whether the world’s richest man is personally benefitting from this access and power.