통신위성 스타실드는 무엇인가?

[위종민]

우크라이나 군의 스타실드(군용 스타링크) 이용에 갑자기 제한이 걸렸었죠. 대통령이 지시했는지, 머스크 독단인지는 아직 안 밝혀진 것 같습니다만. 

머스크의 발언에 따르면 스타실드는 스페이스X가 아니라 미 정부가 소유하고 통제한다고 하네요. 스타링크 위성군을 활용하지만 암호화, 전용 단말기를 활용한다고 하고, 일부 스타실드 전용위성도 미 국방부가 구매했다고 합니다. 

영국도 스타실드를 도입했고, 뉴질랜드군도 도입을 검토중이라고 하는데, 분명 유용한 도구이겠습니다만, 미국의 동맹국으로서의 신뢰가 의심스러워진다는 게 문제네요. 

# 스타실드란 무엇인가? 스페이스X의 군사용 스타링크

로이터

2026년 10월 17일 오전 5시 8분

우크라이나 군인이 아우디이우카 인근 진지에서 스타링크 위성 인터넷 체계를 준비하고 있다. (Inna Varenytsia/Reuters)

우크라이나는 수요일 일론 머스크의 스페이스X가 ‘군용 등급’ 스타링크 서비스를 제한해 우크라이나의 드론 타격 임무와 방공작전에 지장을 초래했다고 밝혔다.

이러한 불만 제기는 스페이스X의 상업용 위성 인터넷 서비스인 스타링크와 미 국방부를 위해 개발된 군사용 버전인 스타실드의 차이에 다시 관심을 집중시켰다.

머스크는 두 체계가 별개라고 밝혔지만, 많은 경우 두 체계는 동일한 기반 위성기술을 공유한다.

“스타실드 체계는 미국 정부가 소유하고 통제합니다.” 머스크는 수요일 X에 올린 게시물에서 이같이 밝히며, 속도나 사용에 관한 모든 제한은 미군이나 대통령이 결정한다고 덧붙였다. “스타링크는 스페이스X가 소유하고 통제하는 상업용 서비스입니다. 스타링크의 사용은 민간 또는 방어적 활동으로 제한되며, 공격적인 군사행동에는 사용할 수 없습니다. 상업기업이 그러한 활동을 지원하는 것은 부적절하기 때문입니다.”

#### 스타링크란 무엇인가?

스페이스X의 주요 수익원인 스타링크는 1만1,000기 이상의 위성으로 구성된 위성 인터넷 네트워크다. 이 위성들은 접은 신문 정도 크기의 사용자 단말기에 광대역 인터넷 서비스를 직접 제공한다. 약 1,300만 명의 가입자에는 일반 가정과 등산객부터 해운회사와 주요 항공사에 이르기까지 다양한 고객이 포함돼 있다.

2019년 재사용 가능한 스페이스X 로켓으로 첫 스타링크 위성을 발사한 이후, 회사는 지구의 상당 부분을 포괄하는 방대한 저궤도 위성군을 구축했다. 스타링크는 일반적으로 지구에서 훨씬 멀리 떨어진 궤도에서 훨씬 적은 수로 운용되는 기존 통신위성보다 빠른 연결 서비스를 제공한다.

스타링크는 전쟁 초기 우크라이나에 중요한 통신상의 우위를 제공하면서 군대가 전장에서 작전하는 방식에 변화를 가져왔다. 그러나 머스크는 특정 군사적 용도에 대한 스타링크 사용을 제한하는 한편, 정부 및 군사 임무를 위해 개발된 더욱 안전한 네트워크인 스타실드를 강조해왔다.

#### 스타실드란 무엇인가?

스타실드는 미 국방부를 위한 군사 및 정보용 위성체계를 개발하는 스페이스X의 사업부다.

스타실드의 임무는 스타링크의 상업용 광대역 서비스와 구분되지만, 그 경계가 항상 명확한 것은 아니다. 스타실드의 보안 통신 서비스는 강화된 암호화와 전용 단말기를 사용하지만, 방대한 스타링크 위성군을 기반 네트워크로 활용한다.

스페이스X에 따르면 스타실드는 스타링크의 기술, 엔지니어링 역량, 운용 경험을 활용한다. 회사는 군사용 버전이 보안 통신 외에도 사용자에게 지구관측 능력을 제공하고 센서나 기타 탑재체를 통합할 수 있도록 지원한다고 설명한다.

스타실드의 최대 고객인 미 국방부는 스타링크와 스타실드 서비스에 수십억 달러를 지출했다. 또한 미사일 경보 임무를 위한 통신위성과 미 국가정찰국(NRO)을 위한 정찰위성군을 포함해 스타실드 전용 위성도 구매했다고 로이터는 2024년 보도했다.

스타링크와 스타실드의 관계에 관한 의문은 러시아가 2022년 우크라이나를 지원하는 서방 위성들을 위협한 이후 계속 제기돼 왔다. 스페이스X는 같은 해 말 스타실드를 공개했지만, 국가안보 관련 우주사업을 둘러싼 기밀성 때문에 두 체계 사이의 정확한 경계는 여전히 불분명하다.

로이터 보도에 따르면 이러한 구분은 올해 초 이란 분쟁 당시 군용 드론에 사용되는 위성 서비스의 가격 인상 문제를 놓고 미 국방부와 스페이스X가 충돌하면서 쟁점이 됐다.

스페이스X는 단말기당 약 5,000달러를 지불하고 스타링크를 이용하는 일부 고객들이 대신 단말기당 약 2만5,000달러의 비용이 드는 스타실드 서비스를 사용했어야 한다고 주장했다.

영국도 스타실드를 도입했다. 영국 국방부가 로이터에 밝힌 바에 따르면, 영국의 스타실드 서비스는 스타링크와 동일한 위성군, 지상국, 지상 기반시설을 이용하지만 전용 단말기와 별도의 네트워크 게이트웨이를 통해 운용된다.

다른 미국 협력국들도 이 체계를 평가하고 있다. 뉴질랜드 방위군은 군사작전에서의 유용성을 평가하기 위해 스타실드를 시험 운용하고 있다고 앞서 로이터에 밝혔다.

What is Starshield, SpaceX’s military version of Starlink?

What is Starshield, SpaceX’s military version of Starlink?

What is Starshield, SpaceX’s military version of Starlink?

By Reuters

 Oct 17, 2026, 05:08 AM

A Ukrainian service member prepares a Starlink satellite internet system at his position near Avdiivka. (Inna Varenytsia/Reuters)

Ukraine said on Wednesday that Elon Musk’s SpaceX had restricted “military-grade” Starlink services, hampering Ukrainian drone strike missions and air defenses.

The complaint has drawn renewed attention to the distinction between Starlink, SpaceX’s commercial satellite internet service, and Starshield, a military version developed for the Pentagon.

While Musk has said the two systems are separate, in many cases they share the same underlying satellite technology.

“Starshield systems are owned and controlled by the U.S. government,” Musk said on Wednesday in a post on X, adding that any limits on speed or usage are decided by the U.S. military or the president. “Starlink is a commercial service owned and controlled by SpaceX. Usage of Starlink is limited to civilian or defensive activities and cannot be used for offensive military action, as doing so would be inappropriate for a commercial company.”

WHAT IS STARLINK?

Starlink, the main profit engine of SpaceX, is a satellite internet network of more than 11,000 satellites that beam broadband service directly to user terminals about the size of a folded newspaper. Its roughly 13 million subscribers range from households and hikers to shipping companies and major airlines.

Since launching its first Starlink satellites in 2019 aboard reusable SpaceX rockets, the company has built a vast low-Earth-orbit constellation that blankets much of the planet, delivering faster connections than traditional communications satellites, which typically operate much farther from Earth and in far smaller numbers.

Starlink gave Ukraine a critical communications advantage early in the war, reshaping how militaries operate on the battlefield. But Musk has restricted Starlink for certain military uses while highlighting Starshield, a more secure network developed for government and military missions.

WHAT IS STARSHIELD?

Starshield is a SpaceX business unit that develops military and intelligence satellite systems for the Pentagon.

While its missions are separate from Starlink’s commercial broadband service, the distinction is not always clear-cut: Starshield’s secure communications services use enhanced encryption and dedicated terminals, but rely on the vast Starlink constellation as their backbone.

Starshield leverages the technology, engineering and operational experiences of Starlink, according to SpaceX. In addition to secure communications, the company says the militarized version can also provide users with Earth observation and the ability to integrate sensors or other payloads.

The Pentagon, Starshield’s largest customer, has spent billions of dollars on both Starlink and Starshield services. It has also bought dedicated Starshield satellites, including communications spacecraft for missile-warning missions and a spy constellation for the National Reconnaissance Office, Reuters reported in 2024.

Questions over the relationship between Starlink and Starshield have persisted since Russia threatened Western satellites supporting Ukraine in 2022. SpaceX unveiled Starshield later that year, but the secrecy surrounding national security space programs has left the precise boundaries between the two systems opaque.

Those distinctions became a point of contention earlier this year when the Pentagon clashed with SpaceX over higher prices for satellite services used by military drones during the Iran conflict, Reuters reported.

SpaceX argued that some customers paying roughly $5,000 per terminal for Starlink should instead have been using a Starshield service costing about $25,000 per terminal.

Britain has also adopted Starshield. Under that arrangement, the service uses the same satellite constellation, ground stations and terrestrial infrastructure as Starlink, but operates through dedicated terminals and separate network gateways, Britain’s defense ministry has told Reuters.

Other U.S. partners are eval‎uating the system as well. New Zealand is doing a trial of Starshield to assess its usefulness for military operations, the New Zealand Defence Force previously told Reuters.