The Starlink logo is seen on a mobile device with an illustration of planet Earth in this illustration in Warsaw, Poland on September 21, 2022.
STR | norphoto | Getty Images
SpaceX's effort to place an additional 22,488 satellites in low Earth orbit faces official objection from a U.S.-Ukrainian nonprofit, which says it is concerned about CEO Elon Musk's contacts with Russia and the alleged use of the Starlink system by Russian forces in Ukraine. “.
In its motion to dismiss and request to stay filed with the FCC on Wednesday, the U.S. Ukrainian Congressional Committee (UCCA) also cited the negative environmental impacts of SpaceX launches in Texas and Musk's potential conflicts of interest due to his work with upcoming companies. Trump administration.
SpaceX's Starlink system has been linked to Ukraine since the terminals arrived there shortly after Russian forces invaded the neighboring country in early 2022. The following year, the Pentagon agreed to purchase Starlink satellite internet terminals for use in Ukraine's ongoing defense against Russia.
However, in September 2023, SpaceX's CEO was rebuked by Ukrainian-Americans after it emerged that he had thwarted a major attack on the Russian Navy. Musk said at the time that he had asked his engineers not to operate SpaceX's Starlink satellite network over Crimea in order to prevent a planned attack by Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet in 2022.
“There is an imperative to determine whether Starlink was used to assist a foreign adversary,” UCCA President Michael Socchio Jr. told CNBC, regarding the group's decision to file a petition and motion with the FCC this week. “If the answer is yes, then it is not in the national security interest of Ukrainian Americans, or the entire country.”
The UCCA is not the only group concerned with Musk's relationship with the Kremlin.
The Wall Street Journal reported in October that Musk participated in a series of “secret conversations” with Russian President Vladimir Putin ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Members of Congress and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson called for an investigation into those communications.
A month before the newspaper's report, Newsweek and others reported that Russia had installed Starlink terminals in its Iranian-designed drones, which are being used in its military offensive in Ukraine. Starlink did not provide a comment on the story, but earlier in the year, in February, Musk said in a social media post that news reports suggesting that Starlink was selling terminals to Russia were “categorically false,” and that “for the best of “The command.” “To our knowledge, no Starlinks have been sold directly or indirectly to Russia.”
Sokyo said his group advocates for issues that matter to the estimated 2 million Ukrainian-Americans living in the United States today, many of whom arrived after the war began in February 2022.
The Starlink satellites referenced in the petition will enable the company to provide internet services to more destinations around the world as part of the Gen2 NGSO satellite system.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment, nor did Tim Hughes, senior vice president of global business and government affairs.
Potential conflict of interest
If Sokio succeeds on legal grounds, the FCC may have to pause SpaceX approvals, leaving time for an environmental review, and to develop a plan to resolve any conflicts of interest arising from Musk's new role with the upcoming DOGE. . .
DOGE is expected to serve as a federal advisory committee that will have influence on regulations, government spending, and personnel. The group will likely recommend major changes to the FCC and influence oversight of SpaceX and other Musk-led companies.
“Musk’s struggles run the gamut from financial to substantive,” UCCA wrote in the petition. “His companies will benefit financially from obtaining government contracts and from actions taken by the federal government, including the FCC. Appointing Musk to head DOGE is equivalent to letting a fox guard the chicken coop.”
The proposal asks the FCC to determine how Musk will comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, given his role with DOGE, before it allows any further SpaceX requests.
Regarding environmental concerns, UCCA lead regulatory counsel Arthur Belendiuk wrote in filings with the FCC that SpaceX's launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, is a “biologically diverse and essential habitat area for many species, including wildlife protected under Endangered Species Act. He added, referring to previous incidents, that “firing rockets in this area creates a real danger of spewing fires and debris into neighboring environmentally protected lands.”
After reports that vibrations and noise from SpaceX launches destroyed nine nests of endangered bird species in the area, Musk wrote in an X post in July: “To make up for this heinous crime, I will abstain from eating omelettes.” For a week.”
Instead of addressing the harm caused by SpaceX launches, Musk “responds to the legitimate concerns of local environmental groups with ridicule and ridicule,” Belendiuk wrote in the petition.
The UCCA filed comments in April against SpaceX in a separate FCC action related to the company's request for access to additional spectrum for its Starlink network.
Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr said at the time that the group's comments were “procedurally improper and baseless,” and that it effectively wanted “the government to violate the law by using it as a weapon” against Musk.
Now, President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Carr to lead the FCC in his second administration. Carr's office did not respond to a request for comment.
“His group's focus is not just on Musk or SpaceX,” Belendiuk told CNBC.
Beledniuk said the group has taken legal action to keep Sputnik Radio, which broadcasts Russian government propaganda, off the public airwaves in the United States, and is “actively engaged in discussions with chipmakers whose sanctioned products have been found in Russian weapons systems.”
Watch: FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr on media trust
