Bloomberg reported that Elon Musk's SpaceX subsidiary, Starlink, is preparing to deploy terminals nationwide to upgrade the Federal Aviation Administration's national airspace system. Musk responded to the report on X, indicating that the current ground-based internet, managed by Verizon, "is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk."
Here's more from the report:
Musk approved a shipment of 4,000 Starlink terminals to the FAA last week for the initiative, said one of the people. One terminal has already been installed at the FAA's air-traffic control technology lab in Atlantic City, New Jersey, for testing, the person said.
The person familiar with the matter said the program will be called TDM X. The goal is to have the entire program fully functional within 12 to 18 months.
An FAA spokesperson confirmed Bloomberg's report, stating that the agency is testing one terminal in Atlantic City and two in Alaska. The military has used Starlink terminals at remote bases for the past few years.
Calls to upgrade the nation's air traffic control system come weeks after Elon Musk, a special government employee in charge of DOGE, said his team will support the urgent need to make "rapid safety upgrades to the air traffic control system."
Trump has urged Congress to modernize the nation's aging air traffic control system following last month's midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet near Ronald Reagan National Airport, which killed 67.
Where was the Biden-Harris administration's urgent push to upgrade the national airspace system?
We know why this wasn't a priority—because DEI took center stage over the nation.
Under the Biden-Harris regime, Starlink was banished from the rural federal program to connect America, primarily because of the Biden admin's dislike of Musk. Now, Starlink has rolled out across Ukraine for cellular service, while T-Mobile in the US has the same service.
Recall legacy telecoms AT&T and Verizon have used lawfare to slow down Starlink's constellation building in low-Earth orbit.
Last week, Goldman turned bullish on part suppliers for Starlink satellites...
Starlink will continue to soar as the roadblocks the Biden admin put up have vanished. We suspect a Starlink IPO will occur during Trump's second term.