Elon Musk’s Starlink is helping supersonic, hypersonic planes take flight

Your favorite commercial carrier might still be dragging its feet on whether to provide passengers with high-speed internet onboard using Starlink. But SpaceX's offering is already the favorite for makers of supersonic and hypersonic planes.

CEOs of futuristic airplane companies Hermeus and Boom have confirmed that their prototype planes are using Starlink already, a report said.

SpaceX's Starlink uses a massive fleet of over 3,500 satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to offer high-speed internet services to customers in major parts of the world.

The current fleet is just a tenth of what the company plans to build. With services available in over 40 countries already, Starlink has begun expanding its services beyond borders by teaming up with maritime and aerospace companies.

Multiple airlines now offer in-flight WiFi using Starlink's network. However, companies making supersonic and hypersonic airplanes use Starlink as an important component in developing their aircraft, and it is already part of their flight prototypes.

Accelerating deployment Atlanta, Georgia-based Hermeus is building Halcyon, a hypersonic aircraft for commercial passengers, and Darkhorse, an uncrewed jet for military applications. As part of its development program, it is building the Quarterhorse Mk1 prototype, its test bed aircraft for flight operations.

In the first step, the Mk1 will test high-speed take-off and landing, but since the aircraft is uncrewed, Hermeus needs to operate it remotely. This is where Hermeus turned to Starlink.

According to company CEO AJ Piplica's post on X (formerly Twitter), Hermeus needed a communication system that went beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) on its plane, and instead of SATCOM, it chose Starlink.

After making this decision, Starlink's terminals were promptly delivered, and simulations and integration of the device on Mk1 were completed in 17 days, something that would have taken years using conventional approaches, Piplica said in his post .

After a brief wind tunnel test, Hermeus was also successful in taxiing the Mk1 using a Starlink connection, but its first flight can only be completed in 2025.

Flying with Starlink Boom Supersonic, on the other hand, has already flown its aircraft prototype with Starlink integrated, according to company CEO Blake Scholl. Responding to Piplica's post, Scholl said that Boom installed a Starlink mini terminal on its T-38 aircraft.

The process of installation to testing was equally smooth for Boom, with the process being completed in 15 days. Interesting Engineering has previously reported that the T-38 is a chase aircraft that Boom uses to follow its XB-1, its supersonic test aircraft prototype.

For XB-1's first flight, the T-38 closely followed it for safety monitoring and the Starlink connection to monitor the movements. Boom used a 3D-printed custom mount to integrate the Starlink terminal on the T-38.

What makes the integration even special is that the terminal flew at 0.95 Mach during the demonstration flight, perhaps a first for Starlink as well.

On a side note, what makes it even more special is that Musk hasn't commented on this yet. This is an amazing achievement by SpaceX, and it was published on X. How come Musk is MIA?