The federal aviation administration began to test the use of SpaceX Starlink satellite internet terminals in the national airspace, almost two years after receiving $ 2 billion contracts to perform similar tasks.
The founder and CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk claimant On the social media platform X that the Verizon system “does not work and thus puts air travelers at serious risk”.
A Verizon spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The news mentioned for the first time by ParachuteIt comes just a few weeks after the new US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said that Musk and his so -called “government efficiency” will help “upgrade” the air traffic control system.
FAA explained in a statement on Monday that Alaska has long had problems with reliable weather information about the air community.
“FAA 2024 review required FAA to correct telecommunications connections to meet these needs”, The Statement published in x He reads. “This is why FAA is considering the use of Starlink by the previous administration to increase reliability in remote locations, including Alaska.”
The Agency also confirmed that it is testing a terminal at its installation at Atlantic City and two terminals in non -critical areas in Alaska.
Musk has spent the last month beating the federal government’s internal functions with the help of a personal workers, many of whom come from the ecosystem of his companies, including Spacex and Tesla. Doge workers have gained access to multiple federal services that regulate Musk companies and some that – as far as we know – still carry out ongoing surveys in these businesses.
President Donald Trump has argued that Musk will self -assess any conflicts of interest, which means that no organization or person or person assesses whether the richest person in the world personally benefits from this access and power.
