The US Department of Defense and SpaceX reached an agreement granting it exclusive permission to obtain the US military's highest-grade VCM classified space tracking data. In exchange, SpaceX provided the military with observation data from the StarGaze system. The agreement limited the confidential data to SpaceX's internal use and not for commercial profit. SpaceX's StarGaze relies on the Starlink satellite's large number of star sensors to detect small targets in low orbit, but there are observation shortcomings. Obtaining VCM data can assist Starlink to perform thousands of satellite collision avoidance maneuvers per day, improving the safety of in-orbit operation. The cooperation has raised concerns among commercial aerospace peers, believing that it will squeeze the living space of commercial tracking service providers, and the details of the agreement have not been disclosed. The actual enforcement of internal terms of use and the potential impact on third-party services have become the focus of industry disputes.

The US Department of Defense and SpaceX reached an agreement granting it exclusive permission to obtain the US military's highest-grade VCM classified space tracking data. In exchange, SpaceX provided the military with observation data from the StarGaze system. The agreement limited the confidential data to SpaceX's internal use and not for commercial profit. SpaceX's StarGaze relies on the Starlink satellite's large number of star sensors to detect small targets in low orbit, but there are observation shortcomings. Obtaining VCM data can assist Starlink to perform thousands of satellite collision avoidance maneuvers per day, improving the safety of in-orbit operation. The cooperation has raised concerns among commercial aerospace peers, believing that it will squeeze the living space of commercial tracking service providers, and the details of the agreement have not been disclosed. The actual enforcement of internal terms of use and the potential impact on third-party services have become the focus of industry disputes.