SpaceX Gets Military Tracking Data
Under a contract with the Space Force, SpaceX receives the military's most precise data on objects in orbit, which the Pentagon has kept from other companies, in exchange for tracking data from cameras on its Starlink satellites.
The Space Force has signed a contract giving SpaceX access to the most detailed version of U.S. Space Command's High Accuracy Catalog of objects in orbit, the Guardian and Breaking Defense report. It is the first time a commercial company has been given that access. In return, the military gets data from Stargaze, SpaceX's network of star-tracking cameras on its Starlink satellites.
A Space Force official told Breaking Defense the data is for SpaceX's "internal use" only and may not be used for commercial gain. A spokesperson said the service is negotiating similar exchanges with several companies and that no classified information is involved. SpaceX operates about 11,000 Starlink and Starshield satellites and says they make about 1,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers a day.
Competitors and former officials say the arrangement could give SpaceX an edge in selling collision-warning services. The Space Force says the data is a subset of what it already makes available to the Commerce Department's civilian space-traffic program, known as TraCSS, which the administration has twice tried to defund; Congress restored the money for this year, and the House has voted to do so for next year.
The U.S. military has given SpaceX access to its most precise data on satellites and debris in orbit, in a swap for tracking data from SpaceX's own satellites.
The exchange
SpaceX and the Space Force's Joint Commercial Operations Cell signed a contract trading access to U.S. Space Command's most detailed High Accuracy Catalog for data from SpaceX's Stargaze system, a network of star-tracking cameras on Starlink satellites, Breaking Defense first reported on September 23; the Guardian now reports that the contract has been signed. The military data includes messages describing the position and velocity of objects in low orbit as small as about 10 centimeters, along with the uncertainty of each measurement. The military keeps that information closely held because it could reveal the limits of U.S. sensors.
A Space Force official told Breaking Defense that SpaceX is "not allowed to use that for any sort of commercial gain or benefit. It's only for their internal use." A Space Force spokesperson said the service is "engaging with several companies" on similar exchanges and that they "do not include any classified information" and involve "a subset of the same information that is made available to the Department of Commerce" for its civilian traffic system.
Why SpaceX wants it
SpaceX operates roughly 11,000 Starlink and Starshield satellites. Jon Herman, SpaceX's senior director for Starlink constellation engineering, told Breaking Defense they perform about 20,000 maneuvers a day, about 1,000 of them to avoid collisions, mostly with objects that are not Starlink satellites. About 100 other operators share their satellite positions with SpaceX in return for collision warnings drawn from Stargaze.
The concerns
Cole Donovan, a former employee of the Commerce Department's Traffic Coordination System for Space, now with the nonprofit Stand Up for Science, told the Guardian the deal risks "making a company the de facto source for space traffic coordination within the US." A former official at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told the Guardian that SpaceX had been "remarkably responsive to space safety concerns." The administration tried to largely defund the $65 million civilian program for fiscal 2026 and proposed cutting it to nearly zero for 2027; Congress restored the money for 2026, and the House has done so for 2027.