SpaceX’s Classified Starshield Satellites Are Sending Strange Signals

Smartphone satellite services are rapidly becoming as transformative to mobile communication as AI is to computing. This is quickly becoming one of tech’s most fascinating and competitive new frontiers with the potential to revolutionize the way we connect to the internet via our mobile devices.

Apple’s satellite service provider, Globalstar, is pursuing expansion of its network to bring Apple users more connectivity and features with less dependency on antenna orientation (aka “a clear view of the sky”) to improve upon and add to Apple’s Messages via satellite, Emergency SOS via satellite, and Roadside Assistance via satellite.

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Apple’s native satellite services work with the iPhone 14 and newer models, as they rely on specific satellite frequencies. At the same time, T-Mobile’s T-Satellite plan works over standard 5G bands and allows iPhone 13 and newer owners to connect with family, friends, and emergency services and use apps like Weather, Fitness, Music, and Compass.

T-Satellite uses the Starlink satellite network — a division of Elon Musk’s SpaceX — to relay standard 5G signals directly to smartphones. With T-Satellite, there’s no need to seek a clear opening and hold your phone up to the sky. Beyond Starlink having a leg up on Apple’s satellite services for the time being, there’s been an interesting twist in the space race over the last few days.

SpaceX’s Other Satellite Network

While SpaceX’s satellite internet network, Starlink, is nearly a household name and serves consumer and commercial use, SpaceX also operates an entirely separate network of satellites designed to provide military space capabilities called Starshield.

According to SpaceX.com, Starshield is designed for governments and focuses on earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads. What’s a hosted payload? The term generally refers to additional sensors or communication modules attached to a satellite platform — often for intelligence or defense support missions. However, in a military context, this could include surveillance, targeting, or secure communications support for advanced weapons systems. Not comfortable with heavily militarized satellites hovering in the sky? It may be too late.

While SpaceX builds and operates Starshield satellites, they’re owned by the government and managed by the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and the US Space Force — agencies responsible for ensuring America remains the “undisputed leader in space.” This background makes recent reports about Starshield a bit more fascinating.

Late last week, Canadian satellite monitoring hobbyist Scott Tilley accidentally triggered a scan of radio frequencies that are typically quiet, according to NPR. In the process, he found a band of radio spectrum between 2025 and 2110 MHz — part of the S-band satellite spectrum. Satellites use this band to receive data from ground stations. However, in this case, the satellites were doing the opposite, using the frequency to transmit to the Earth’s surface.

Tilley says he believes the decision to downlink in a band typically reserved for uplinking data could also be designed to hide Starshield’s operations. The frequent shift in specific frequencies used could prevent outsiders from finding the signal.

Geoff Brumfiel, NPR

A satellite’s use of this frequency to transmit to Earth (“downlink”) rather than the other way around (“uplink”) is counter to standards set by the International Telecommunication Union (a United Nations agency). Such use of the frequency can cause radio interference for nearby satellites, compromising their ability to receive commands and communicate with Earth. When Tilley compared his data to that of others in the amateur satellite monitoring community, he identified as many as 170 Starshield satellites as the culprits.

There have been no reports suggesting these signals have caused any actual disruption or interference, but their use this way raises intriguing questions: Who’s responsible — SpaceX or the US government? And what purpose does the signal serve? While we typically cover satellites through the lens of how they’ll improve your iPhone experience, this story was too fascinating to overlook. For now, don’t look up!