Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tells Musk to Preserve SpaceX Starshield Records Ahead of January Probe
Washington — The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has confirmed to CNN that it has sent a record-preservation letter to Elon Musk, requiring SpaceX to preserve all records and communications relating to the October restrictions on Starshield, the military satellite service used by Ukraine. Matching letters also went to every port, bank and private company tied to the Trump administration's Russian diesel deal, and to the Trump administration itself.
A Senate Democratic aide told CNN the materials could be used to investigate decisions by the Trump administration. Democrats expect the investigations to begin in January 2027, when the new Congress is seated and Democrats will control both chambers, with subpoena power.
Starshield is SpaceX's military-grade satellite communications service provided to the U.S. government. In October, Ukraine reported that Starshield terminals were restricted at high speeds, affecting drone operations, and lawmakers pressed for answers on who had decided the limits. On October 15, nine senators — five Democrats and four Republicans, led by Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis — wrote to the Pentagon's inspector general asking for an investigation into whether any U.S. official directed, authorized or had advance knowledge of the changes, and asking that records be preserved. The inspector general declined about two weeks later, saying the matters were best addressed by the Department of Defense.
On October 19, Democratic Senators Chris Coons, Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal and Sheldon Whitehouse wrote separately to SpaceX, asking who authorized the restrictions on Ukraine and requesting records and answers by November 2. SpaceX has told Congress it made no changes to Starshield and adjusted only its civilian Starlink service, which it said was restored to align with U.S. government priorities — an account that differs from Ukraine's technical records.
A preservation letter makes no accusation by itself, but it obliges the recipient not to destroy the records it covers. GSM has followed the Starshield restrictions and earlier Senate letters in a continuing series.
Related: Follow-Up: Musk Admits SpaceX Throttled Ukraine's Starlink
Related: Follow-Up: Senator Blumenthal Writes to the Defense Secretary Over Starshield
Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国会大厦（资料图）。照片：CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The U.S. Capitol (file photo). CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-11-05Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tells Musk to Preserve SpaceX Starshield Records Ahead of January ProbeThis story
