The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is considering canceling its $2.4 billion air traffic control communications system contract with Verizon and instead enlisting Elon Musk’s satellite company, sources told The Washington Post.
The potential shift to Starlink, the satellite communications infrastructure under SpaceX, comes after a December General Services Administration (GSA) report highlighting an “urgent” need to modernize the FAA’s dated systems. The SpaceX founder has repeatedly criticized the agency’s air traffic control systems and suggested Verizon’s involvement contributed to recent deadly aviation incidents.
“To be clear here, the Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly,” Musk wrote Thursday. “The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk.”
To be clear here, the Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly. The FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk.
The Starlink terminals are being sent at NO COST to the… https://t.co/B3XOFZerJB
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 27, 2025
Verizon announced its partnership with the agency through the FAA Enterprise Network Services (FENS) contract in 2023, an initiative meant to modernize air traffic control systems and communication between agency offices — though the FAA said in an X post Monday it has considered switching to Starlink “since the prior administration.” The FAA also said SpaceX employees are already working with the agency to update its aging communications infrastructure and testing Starlink systems at “non-safety critical” facilities in Atlantic City and Alaska. Some SpaceX employees already have FAA email addresses, according to The Washington Post..
“Alaska has long had issues with reliable weather information for the aviation community,” the agency wrote. “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. This week, the FAA is testing one terminal at its facility in Atlantic City and two terminals at non-safety critical sites in Alaska.”
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) February 25, 2025
Starlink expects to install 4,000 satellite terminals at these sites over the next 12 to 18 months, according to Bloomberg.
Democratic lawmakers including California Sen. Adam Schiff and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey have raised ethical concerns ahead of the potential partnership, with Schiff arguing in a Feb. 10 letter to White House chief of staff Susie Wiles that Musk’s financial interests in the contract create serious ethical issues. Markey wrote a similar letter to the FAA on Wednesday.
“Mr. Musk holds substantial financial interests in private companies, including Tesla, Inc., SpaceX, The Boring Company, xAI, X Corp and Neuralink,” the senator wrote. “Mr. Musk’s companies have also been the subject of at least 20 recent investigations by federal agencies, which heightens the risk that Mr. Musk may seek to use his new position to shield his companies from federal scrutiny.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy defended the development in a Fox News column on Feb. 19, stating the integration of SpaceX infrastructure in air traffic control systems is “just the start” of the modernization effort.
“The Government Accountability Office stated that among the FAA’s 138 systems, 51 are unsustainable and the agency doesn’t plan to complete modernization projects for some of these systems for at least 10 years,” Duffy wrote. “Additionally, the FAA doesn’t yet have plans to modernize other systems in need — three of which are at least 30 years old … Despite the obvious need for reform, partisans are certain to criticize this upcoming SpaceX visit, manufacturing illusory controversy rather than welcoming progress.”
The FAA, SpaceX and Verizon did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
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