Two senior Democratic senators have ordered Elon Musk to preserve all SpaceX records related to restrictions on Ukraine's access to the company's Starlink and Starshield satellite services, escalating congressional scrutiny of disruptions that hampered Kyiv's air defences.
Senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Chris Coons of Delaware sent a four-page letter to Musk on Friday demanding that he and SpaceX preserve documents, communications and electronically stored information relating to Ukraine's access to the services. SpaceX has until November 30 to confirm in writing that the preservation measures are in place.
The letter points to restrictions between October 13 and October 24 that disrupted communications used by Ukrainian forces, including for interceptor drones defending civilian population centres against Russian missiles and drones. A further restriction to Starshield, the military-grade version of the service, occurred on November 12, the senators said.
"The October and November restrictions now raise the disturbing possibility that these vulnerabilities persist even within systems on which the U.S. government relies," Shaheen and Coons wrote in the letter, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by Reuters.
The preservation demand covers records dating back to September 1, including all contracts and technical specifications governing Starlink and Starshield services in Ukraine, network logs and configuration changes, and records identifying who proposed, activated, modified or removed each restriction. It also covers communications between Musk, SpaceX executives and the White House and Pentagon, as well as any relevant communications with Russian officials.
The senators also demanded answers to three questions by November 30: how restrictions since October 1 were approved and who authorised each one, whether the company assessed the consequences for Ukrainian air defences, civilians and American personnel, and which restrictions remain in effect. SpaceX has denied that it imposed any restrictions on Ukraine's access this week, and has not explained who authorised the limits, the senators said.
The Journal previously reported that Musk ordered the Starlink slowdown in October, before President Donald Trump later called him and asked him to lift it. Democrats plan a series of investigations into the administration's handling of the Ukraine war when they take control of Congress in January following last week's midterm elections. Coons is expected to become the next chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, while Shaheen is retiring at the end of this term. Shaheen and Republican Senator Thom Tillis have separately demanded that Washington and SpaceX restore Ukraine's full Starshield capabilities.
