Acting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Christopher Rocheleau has clarified that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, was not involved in the decision to test Starlink at FAA facilities.
During a US Senate hearing on March 27, 2025, seen by Reuters, Rocheleau confirmed that no Starlink terminals have been connected to the air traffic control system and that DOGE employees are not part of the decision-making process regarding the addition of more terminals.
The announcement follows the FAA’s announcement in February 2025 regarding the potential cancellation of a $2.4 billion contract with Verizon in favor of Elon Musk’s Starlink.
At that time, the FAA indicated it had begun testing SpaceX Starlink terminals to “fix telecommunications connections” and was “considering the use of Starlink since the prior administration”. The agency was conducting tests with one terminal at its Atlantic City facility and two terminals at non-safety critical sites in Alaska.
Prior to that, Musk has publicly criticized the current FAA telecom system. On February 25, 2025, he stated on X that “the Verizon system is not working and so is putting air travelers at serious risk”. A couple of days later, Musk added that “the Verizon communication system to air traffic control is breaking down very rapidly”.
Following Musk’s comments about the FAA system and his role as the head of SpaceX, there have been media reports suggesting that his DOGE team was influencing FAA decisions regarding Starlink terminals.
However, on March 5, 2025, SpaceX denied intent to take over the current Verizon FAA contract. However, SpaceX did mention on X that “Starlink is a possible partial fix to an aging system”.
During the hearing, US Senator Ed Markey repeatedly asked Rocheleau if he agreed with Musk’s views, according to Reuters. Rocheleau did not answer directly but offered assurances that air travel is safe. However, he added that “the air traffic system is in dire need of upgrade”.
