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By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday that members of Elon Musk's DOGE government reform team did not make the agency's decision to test Starlink terminals.
Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau also said at a U.S. Senate hearing that no Starlink terminals have been plugged into the air traffic control system and that no DOGE employees are involved in the decision-making process around the deployment of additional terminals.
Musk's SpaceX owns Starlink. The FAA said earlier this month it was testing eight Starlink terminals in Alaska to restore access to weather information and in Oklahoma City and Atlantic City.
Musk last month posted on X that "the FAA assessment is single digit months to catastrophic failure, putting air traveler safety at serious risk."
Senator Ed Markey repeatedly pressed Rocheleau if he agreed with Musk's assessment.
Rocheleau did not directly answer but said he could assure the flying public that air travel is safe. "I would also say the air traffic system is in dire need of upgrade," he said.
The FAA had three special government employees from SpaceX and now the agency is only in contact with one of them, Rocheleau said.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy criticized Verizon earlier this month for not moving fast enough and soon plans to ask Congress for tens of billions of dollars to reform air traffic control.
Many Democrats have cautioned that the FAA could cancel a $2.4 billion contract awarded in 2023 to Verizon and give it to Starlink because of Musk's close ties to President Donald Trump.
Musk, who is leading the so-called Department of Government Efficiency federal downsizing operation, has criticized the current FAA telecom system. But Starlink has denied it wants to take over the Verizon FAA contract.
The Government Accountability Office says the FAA must take urgent action to address aging air traffic control systems, saying that one third are unsustainable.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot)
