An uncaptioned image posted on the corporate’s website appears to indicate Starshield technology in orbit.
SpaceX
The Pentagon has awarded Elon Musk’s SpaceX its first confirmed contract for the Starshield network it’s developing, a military-specific version of the corporate’s Starlink satellite web system, the defense agency said Wednesday.
A Space Force spokesperson confirmed that SpaceX on Sept. 1 was awarded a one-year contract for Starshield with a maximum value of $70 million. The award got here alongside 18 other corporations through a program run by the Space Force’s industrial satellite communications office.
“The SpaceX contract provides for Starshield end-to-end service (via the Starlink constellation), user terminals, ancillary equipment, network management and other related services,” Space Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek told CNBC.
SpaceX didn’t immediately reply to CNBC’s request for comment on the Starshield contract.
The corporate unveiled Starshield last yr as a latest business line. The Pentagon is already a high-value buyer of the corporate’s rocket launches and had shown increasing interest in its Starlink satellite web.
SpaceX has given few details in regards to the intended scope and capabilities of Starshield. It markets the service as the middle of an “end-to-end,” dedicated offering for national security with capabilities distinct from its Starlink consumer and enterprise network.
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SpaceX’s award for Starshield follows its June win of a Pentagon contract to purchase an undefined variety of Starlink ground terminals to be used in Ukraine.
The initial phase of the Starshield contract obligates $15 million to SpaceX by Sept. 30, to offer services that support 54 military “mission partners” across Department of Defense branches, the spokesperson said.
Bloomberg first reported the contract on Thursday.
— CNBC’s Claudia Johnson contributed to this report.
