The Federal Aviation Administration has begun testing the use of the SpaceX Starlink satellite internet terminal on its National Airspace system, nearly two years after Verizon was awarded a $2 billion contract to do similar work.
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk claimed on social media platform X that the Verizon system “stopping air travelers at serious risk because it is not working.”
A Verizon spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The news first reported by Bloomberg comes just weeks after new U.S. Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said Musk and his so-called “Government Efficiency” would help “upgrade” the air traffic control system. Masu.
The FAA explained in a statement Monday that Alaska has long had problems with reliable weather information in the aviation community.
“With the 2024 FAA reauthorization, the FAA had to modify its communications connections to meet these needs,” reads the statement posted to X. “That’s why the FAA has been considering using Starlink since its previous administration to increase reliability at remote sites, including Alaska.”
The agency also confirmed that it was testing one terminal at its Atlantic City facility and two terminals at its unsafe critical sites in Alaska.
Musk hacked the internal federal system last month and with the help of many workers, comes from his corporate ecosystems, including SpaceX and Tesla. Doge workers have gained access to multiple federal agencies that regulate Musk businesses, and some people have been conducting ongoing research into those businesses as far as we know. .
President Donald Trump has argued that Musk self-politicizes conflicts of interest. In other words, no agency or person assesses whether the world’s wealthiest person is personally profiting from this access and power.
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