Starlink Begins FAA Testing At South Jersey Facility

EGG HARBOR TWP., NJ — Elon Musk's company Starlink is testing equipment at a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility in South Jersey, officials said.

The FAA said that Musk's satellite internet service is being considered for use to fix ongoing and longstanding issues with reliable weather information for the aviation community at remote sites in Alaska. FAA officials said they were testing Starlink at one terminal in Atlantic City and two terminals in Alaska in a post on Musk-owed X this week.

That terminal in Atlantic City is referring to the FAA's facility at the Atlantic City International Airport Complex in Egg Harbor Township.

"The Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk," Musk said in a post on X.

It's part of a potential takeover of a $2 billion contract held by Verizon, according to the Associated Press.

Starlink taking over the contract poses a conflict of interest as Musk owns Starlink's parent company, SpaceX, and also serves as a senior White House adviser to President Donald Trump. It's not clear exactly what role Musk plays in this.

"There's very limited transparency," Jessica Tillipman, a contracting law expert at George Washington University, told the Associated Press. Referring to Musk, she said: "Without that transparency, we have no idea how much non-public information he has access to or what role he's playing in what contracts are being awarded."

Former FAA officials also told the Associated Press that "they were alarmed at the prospect of Starlink being used as a critical part of the nation's aviation system without adequate testing, review and debate about its benefits and drawbacks."

SpaceX is angling to use its constellation of satellites to replace an aging ground-based communications system that facilitates the FAA's text and voice communication, the sources told the Associated Press. The Verizon contract, awarded in 2023, was to update part of that system to a more modern standard relying on fiber optic cables.

Contracting records show that nearly $200 million in work has already been done on Verizon's 15-year modernization effort to update the FAA's communications system. A Verizon representative told the Associated Press that the company is unaware that the contract is being amended or terminated.