SpaceX unveils 'Starshield,' a military variation of Starlink satellites

Elon Musk's SpaceX is expanding its Starlink outer exertion into subject applications with a caller concern enactment called Starshield.

Starshield is apt to further pat the company's biggest U.S. authorities lawsuit – the Pentagon – which already represents a high-value purchaser of SpaceX's launches and has shown important involvement successful the capabilities of Starlink.

"While Starlink is designed for user and commercialized use, Starshield is designed for authorities use," the institution wrote connected its website.

Few details are disposable astir the intended scope and capabilities of Starshield. The institution hasn't antecedently announced tests oregon enactment connected Starshield technology.

On its website, SpaceX said the strategy volition person "an archetypal focus" connected 3 areas: Imagery, communications and "hosted payloads" – the 3rd of which efficaciously offers authorities customers the company's outer autobus (the assemblage of the spacecraft) arsenic a flexible platform.

The institution besides markets Starshield arsenic the halfway of an "end-to-end" offering for nationalist security: SpaceX would physique everything from the crushed antennas to the satellites, motorboat the second with its rockets, and run the web successful space.

SpaceX notes that Starshield uses "additional high-assurance cryptographic capableness to big classified payloads and process information securely," gathering upon the information encryption it uses with its Starlink system.

Another cardinal feature: the "inter-satellite laser communications" links, which the institution presently has connecting its Starlink spacecraft. It notes that the terminals tin beryllium added to "partner satellites," truthful arsenic to link different companies' authorities systems "into the Starshield network."