Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed (D-RI) plans to investigate SpaceX’s actions in Ukraine, according to SpaceNews. This follows news reports that company founder, chairman, CEO and Chief Technology Officer Elon Musk blocked Ukrainian forces’ access to Starlink internet services.
While discussed before in a March committee hearing, the issue has been reignited with the recent release of a Musk biography that recounted how Musk thwarted Ukrainian forces by shutting off Starlink’s satellite network over Crimea, a territory occupied by Russia that Ukraine was fighting to reclaim.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told reporters last week that he wasn’t familiar with the terms of the SpaceX agreement with Ukraine but noted any company that signs a contract with DoD would be expected to comply with the terms of the agreement.
In announcing the probe, Reed stated “serious national security liability issues have been exposed and the committee is engaged on this issue.”
SpaceX initially provided Starlink services in Ukraine at its own expense and through an agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development, Inside Towers reported. Most recently the Pentagon said SpaceX received a DoD contract to provide Starlink services in Ukraine but did not provide details, notes SpaceNews.
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell in February said Ukraine used Starlink services for applications that SpaceX did not support, Inside Towers reported. “It was never intended to be weaponized, but the Ukrainians have leveraged it in ways that were unintentional and not part of any agreement,” she said.
“We’ve got to look at the broader satellite markets and the role of government outsourcing, the outsize role Mr. Musk and his company have taken on here, and the Pentagon’s actions and contractual arrangements,” Reed stated.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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