The Military Version Of Starlink Is Causing Problems For Civilian Satellites

Space satellites perform such varied tasks as forecasting the weather, providing internet service, and enabling GPS. Most of the time, these everyday activities don't make headlines unless something goes wrong. That's exactly what happened in mid-October 2025 when the Starshield satellite network (essentially the U.S. military's Starlink) began disrupting the airwaves used by civilian satellites. The Starshield system was built and is operated by SpaceX under a contract with the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The NRO is a civilian agency that works closely with the Department of Defense (DoD).

The disruption is coming in the form of transmissions broadcast from Starshield satellites on frequencies that the military doesn't typically use. There doesn't seem to be a good reason why this is happening, other than perhaps the military's usual channels are too congested, and this allows for an easier way to communicate. While it doesn't appear to be a major issue as of yet, if this activity increases, it could cause a serious problem for civilian communication satellites down the road. 

As of this writing, neither SpaceX, which just launched its Starship V2 for the last time, nor the NRO has publicly commented on the situation. There's also been no word on whether or not the DoD is currently investigating the matter.

Starshield's random broadcasts to civilian satellites weren't revealed to the public by an American agency like the U.S. Space Force, which is developing an orbital aircraft carrier. Instead, the unusual activity was first discovered by Scott Tilley, an amateur radio astronomer originally from Canada. Tilley wasn't looking for anything out of the ordinary until he happened upon transmissions from space to Earth, which he connected back to Starshield. While Tilley did speak to National Public Radio about the event in October 2025, he hasn't commented on his social media channels as of this writing.

Before this story hit the news, Starshield maintained a fairly low profile, especially about the work that was being done for the U.S. military. The public focus of Starshield to this point has involved its ability to speed up the flow of military communications; the system is so effective that those communications, including data transfer, happen almost instantly. This allows soldiers in the field to be more aware of what's going on around them, thus helping them operate more efficiently.

Starshield is also a more advanced satellite system than the U.S. military has used in the past. Communications once came through satellites operating high above the Earth, which meant only a few companies had the money and resources to even exist in the market. But Starshield is comprised of low-orbit satellites, which opened the door for companies like Project Kuiper and OneWeb to begin utilizing their own hybrid networks.