The US military has granted SpaceX access to sensitive space traffic tracking data, intensifying concerns about the growing influence of Elon Musk’s company over orbital traffic coordination. The move, formalized through a contract between SpaceX and the US Space Force, allows the private firm to utilize the military’s most precise information on potential satellite collisions and other orbital hazards.

This development follows sweeping changes in the government’s nascent space traffic management program, the Traffic Coordination System for Space (Traccs). Since early 2025, the Trump administration significantly reduced Traccs staff and repeatedly proposed cutting its $65 million budget, efforts that Congress has resisted by reinstating funds. Critics argue these actions undermine a federally managed framework intended to oversee the rapidly expanding commercial space sector.

Traccs, created during the Trump administration’s first term to transfer space traffic control duties from the Department of Defense to a civilian agency, manages thousands of satellites, space debris, and spacecraft, facilitating the prevention of approximately 50,000 near-collisions—known as conjunctions—annually. However, the program has struggled with limited funding and workforce challenges, hindering its ability to effectively govern the increasingly congested orbital environment.

Industry experts warn that providing SpaceX with exclusive access to this high-accuracy orbital data could skew the competitive landscape. Cole Donovan, a former Traccs employee now with the Stand Up for Science nonprofit, characterized the arrangement as granting SpaceX an outsized role akin to “a trucking company control[ling] all the traffic lights,” potentially disadvantaging rival operators in commercial space services. The move is seen by some as advancing Musk’s efforts to privatize space traffic coordination and consolidate influence over the US commercial space market, which is projected to grow to nearly $2 trillion in value over the next decade.

SpaceX operates a massive constellation of roughly 11,000 Starlink satellites—planned to expand to as many as 20,000—that provide broadband internet service from low Earth orbit. This growing presence underscores the company’s stake in maintaining operational advantage through access to sensitive space situational awareness data.

While SpaceX and the Space Force declined to comment directly on the arrangement to some outlets, a Space Force spokesperson confirmed engagements with multiple commercial entities that exchange data for access to portions of the military’s controlled, unclassified high-accuracy catalogue, “where it provides benefit to the US government.”

Some industry observers acknowledge SpaceX’s responsiveness to space safety concerns. A former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration official, speaking anonymously, praised the firm for stepping in where government efforts have lagged. This source criticized the federal government for lacking a clear, transparent governance framework that ensures equitable treatment for all space operators.

The debate unfolds amid ongoing discussions in Congress, the administration, and the space industry over how best to manage the crowded orbital environment and whether private companies should be entrusted with roles traditionally overseen by the government. As Traccs faces continued budget uncertainties, SpaceX’s increasing access to military tracking data highlights broader tensions over the balance between public oversight and private sector control in space traffic management.