Alleged Spectrum Misuse and Legal Risks
The core legal issue: Starshield satellites are reportedly transmitting in the 2025–2110 MHz range — a band reserved for Earth-to-space uplink communications. Such unauthorized use may trigger:
- Spectrum-licensing violations (via the FCC and NTIA) if U.S. domestic licenses do not cover this use.
- Potential interference claims if other satellites or ground stations experience degradation of service.
- A state-liability framework under the Liability Convention, if damage can be shown and fault established.
Because the transmissions may hinder other space actors’ telemetry, command, or data channels, claims could conceivably arise from commercial and scientific operators. But the precedent is sparse: academic commentary concludes that domestic and international legal recourse for in-orbit interference is weak, as fault is hard to define and causation hard to prove. Georgetown Law
Insurance Implications: Who Bears the Risk?
The Starshield case opens two key concern-areas: first-party property coverage and third-party liability coverage.
First-Party Property Coverage includes damage to the satellite itself — pre-launch, launch phase and in-orbit operations. Standard space-insurance markets cover launch failure, in-orbit malfunction, collision, etc. However, many policies explicitly exclude risks related to electromagnetic or radio-frequency interference (RFI). As one publication notes: “Under most space insurance policies the risk of electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference is specifically excluded.” HFW
Third-Party Liability Insurance protects the operator for claims arising from damage to other parties — e.g., other satellites, ground-stations, aircraft or terrestrial property. The Liability Convention contemplates state-level compensation, but commercial insurance may be sought for contractual indemnities.
In the Starshield scenario, if an operator alleged that interference from Starshield downlinks caused service disruption or damage, the question arises whether SpaceX (or its insurers) would cover the claim. But if interference falls under exclusions (RFI, spectrum misuse) then insurers may deny coverage. From the research: “In fact, under most space insurance policies the risk of electromagnetic and radio-frequency interference is specifically excluded.” HFW
Therefore, the insurance market may face a “grey zone” liability: a classified constellation, spectrum misuse, potential interference — but no clear precedent for coverage. That raises risk for insurers, for SpaceX, and for any downstream parties who believed they had recourse.
