SpaceX operates two related satellite networks: Starlink, its commercial broadband service, and Starshield, a program designed for national-security customers. The distinction drew renewed attention in October 2026 after Ukrainian officials said some satellite links used by drone operators were restricted at speeds above 160 kilometers per hour between Oct. 14 and Oct. 24.

Starlink is SpaceX’s mass-market satellite internet network. The company says it has more than 11,000 broadband and mobile satellites in orbit at an altitude of about 550 kilometers. The service is available to consumers, businesses and government agencies in more than 160 countries, with users purchasing terminals and service plans for applications including connectivity, disaster response and security.

SpaceX announced Starshield in December 2022 as a national-security adaptation of Starlink technology and the company’s launch capabilities. Its initial focus covered Earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. According to Bleddyn Bowen, an associate professor of astropolitics at Durham University, Starshield satellites use similar platforms to Starlink spacecraft but include additional equipment, more secure hardware and software, and hardened systems.

The company has said it secured multibillion-dollar, multiyear U.S. military contracts related to Starshield in 2026. The program includes several types of assets, such as surveillance satellites, military data links and encrypted communications for users on the ground. Some launches for the National Reconnaissance Office involve electro-optical, radar and relay satellites intended to form a larger, distributed intelligence architecture. The NRO does not itself use the Starshield name.

Another major element is the Space Data Network Backbone, previously known as MILNET. The U.S. Space Force awarded SpaceX a $2.29 billion fixed-price contract to build the system using Starshield satellites. It is intended to rapidly transfer information between missile-warning sensors and interceptors under the Trump administration’s Golden Dome missile-defense plan. A prototype is expected by the end of 2027, and a Space Force official has described the network as government-owned while being operated by SpaceX under military oversight.

Starshield also offers encrypted connectivity through dedicated Starshield terminals or through Starlink terminals configured for Starshield services. The two networks are physically separate, but Starshield satellites can use the Starlink network when required. That interoperability is available to U.S. national-security users and not to ordinary commercial Starlink customers, according to Bowen.

The rules governing the two services are different. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has said Starlink’s terms of service prohibit offensive drone strikes, while decisions over Starshield’s use are made by the U.S. government.

Control of the system remains less clear publicly. The U.S. government is the customer and, in some arrangements, the owner, while SpaceX builds the satellites and operates the underlying network. The company may also operate Starshield satellites in certain agreements. The division of authority between SpaceX and government users has not been fully disclosed.

Bowen compared the arrangement with the United Kingdom’s Skynet military satellite system, where a contractor operates the satellites while government and military authorities make the key decisions. That distinction is central to determining whether SpaceX can take action independently or only with government approval.

Starshield is expected to play a growing role in U.S. military space activities. The Space Data Network Backbone prototype and continuing NRO launches could reveal more about the program, while future public-company reports may offer additional information. Much of the system, however, remains classified.

Sources: Space.com.