SpaceX laser system could help US satellites track hypersonic missiles in flight

A laser terminal built for SpaceX’s Starlink internet constellation could find a new use aboard U.S. missile-warning and tracking satellites.

The Space Development Agency(SDA) awarded SpaceX a contract on November 9 to study whether its commercial “Plaser” terminal can support the Pentagon’s satellite network, which uses beams of light to relay data between spacecraft.

The U.S. Department of War announced the award on November 10. SpaceX will assess the risks of using the terminal, supply representative hardware, and provide integration support.

The company will carry out the work at its headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and at its Starlink engineering site in Redmond, Washington, with completion scheduled for October 7, 2027.

From Starlink to missile tracking

SpaceX developed Plaser, short for “Plug and Plaser,” to let satellites exchange data using laser light. The company began offering the terminal to other satellite operators in March 2024, opening a hardware market it had developed for its own constellation.

“We generally don’t sell components, so this is a little bit of a new thing for us,” said SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell.

The SDA’s planned network calls for hundreds of small satellites in low Earth orbit. Its Tracking Layer uses infrared sensors to detect and follow ballistic and hypersonic missiles. A separate group of satellites, known as the Transport Layer, relays the tracking data through a mesh network.

Laser links can carry more data than radio links, but maintaining a connection requires terminals to point precisely at each other as the satellites move.

The contract announcement leaves open whether Plaser could fly aboard Tracking Layer satellites or connect them to another network.

Compatibility with other terminals

The SDA has its own standard for optical communications terminals and uses the US Naval Research Laboratory to test whether equipment from different suppliers can communicate.

As of March 2024, SpaceX had yet to submit its commercial terminals for that testing. Four suppliers had passed at the time, according to Space Intel Report.

The award announcement did not specify whether the study would evaluate Plaser against that standard. SpaceX has disclosed few specifications for Plaser, although a smaller Starlink terminal offers a point of reference.

Muon Space agreed in October 2025 to integrate that “mini laser” into its Halo satellite platform. The smaller terminal is rated at 25 gigabits per second across distances of up to 2,485 miles (4,000 kilometers), with higher speeds possible over shorter distances.

A separate Space Force satellite network

SpaceX is already developing a separate satellite communications network for the US Space Force. In May 2026, the service awarded the company a fixed-price agreement to build the backbone of its Space Data Network, a low Earth orbit constellation intended to carry missile-warning and tracking data for the Golden Dome missile defense effort.

The Space Force said that network would operate alongside the SDA’s Transport Layer. The service requires a fully operational prototype by the end of 2027, the same year SpaceX is scheduled to finish its Plaser study.