For the Starshield network, SpaceX will launch an unspecified number of satellites into orbit. Satellites can communicate with each other via laser beams. Unlike radio signals, communication via laser beams cannot be intercepted unnoticed.
The space company wants to develop and build everything itself. Not only satellites, but also, for example, telephones that can be used to communicate over the network. This should ensure that communication over the network cannot be intercepted.
The Starshield network will not consist only of communications satellites. There will also be artificial satellites with sensors, measuring instruments or observation equipment. The network can therefore also be used for espionage, for example.
SpaceX already has a commercial satellite network under the Starlink name. More than 3,500 satellites are already floating around the earth. The network was originally conceived to provide the Internet in remote places.
The war in Ukraine has shown that the satellite network can be very valuable even in war situations. In war-affected areas, the local population no longer has access to mobile networks or the Internet. Starlink still works in those areas.
The Ukrainian military, with the help of the Americans, is also using the Starlink network. The military can communicate securely over the network. The experience of the Ukrainian military did not go unnoticed in the United States either. This would have sparked interest in building the Starshield network.
