SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with a US intelligence agency, five sources close to the program said, demonstrating deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s space company and national security agencies.
The network was built by SpaceX’s Starshield business unit under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an intelligence agency that operates spy satellites, the officials said. sources.
The plans show the scope of SpaceX’s involvement in U.S. intelligence and military projects and illustrate a deeper Pentagon investment in vast low-Earth orbit satellite systems aimed at supporting ground forces.
If successful, the sources say the program would significantly improve the U.S. government and military’s ability to quickly locate potential targets almost anywhere in the world.
The contract signals growing confidence from the intelligence establishment in a company whose owner has clashed with the Biden administration and sparked controversy over the use of Starlink satellite connectivity in the war in Ukraine, the sources said.
The Wall Street Journal reported in February about the existence of a classified $1.8 billion Starshield contract with an undisclosed intelligence agency without detailing the program’s purposes.
Reuters reports reveal for the first time that the SpaceX contract involves a powerful new spy system with hundreds of satellites with Earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a swarm in low orbits, and that the spy agency with which Musk’s company is working on this: NRO.
Reuters was unable to determine when the new satellite network will be operational and could not determine which other companies are part of the program with their own contracts.
SpaceX, the world’s largest satellite operator, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the contract, its role in it and details about the satellite launches. The Pentagon sent a request for comment to NRO and SpaceX.
In a statement, NRO acknowledged its mission to develop a sophisticated satellite system and its partnerships with other government agencies, companies, research institutes and nations, but declined to comment on Reuters’ findings on the extent of SpaceX’s involvement in the effort.
“The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse and resilient space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen,” a spokesperson said.
The satellites can track targets on the ground and share the data with U.S. intelligence and military officials, the sources said. In principle, this would allow the US government to quickly capture continuous images of activity on the ground almost anywhere in the world, aiding intelligence and military operations, they added.
About a dozen prototypes have been launched since 2020, among other satellites on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, three of the sources said.
A U.S. government database of orbiting objects shows that several SpaceX missions have deployed satellites that neither the company nor the government have ever acknowledged. Two sources confirmed that these are prototypes for the Starshield network.
All sources asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the U.S. government program.
The Pentagon is already a large customer of SpaceX, which uses its Falcon 9 rockets to launch military payloads into space. Starshield’s first prototype satellite, launched in 2020, was part of a separate contract worth about $200 million that helped position SpaceX for the subsequent $1.8 billion award, one of the sources said.
The planned Starshield network is separate from Starlink, SpaceX’s growing commercial broadband constellation of about 5,500 satellites in space to provide near-global Internet to consumers, businesses and government agencies.
The classified constellation of spy satellites represents one of the U.S. government’s most sought-after capabilities in space because it is designed to provide the most persistent, pervasive and rapid coverage of activity on Earth.
“No one can hide,” one of the sources said of the system’s potential, describing the reach of the network.
Musk, also founder and CEO of Tesla and owner of social media company for secure communications in the conflict with Russia. The authority over Starlink in a war zone lies with Musk, not the US military, created tension between him and the American government.
A series of Reuters stories detailed how Musk’s manufacturing operations, including SpaceX, have harmed consumers and workers.
The Starshield network is part of the intensifying competition between the United States and its rivals to become the dominant military power in space, in part by expanding spy satellite systems away from bulky and expensive spacecraft into higher orbits. Instead, a large network in low orbit can provide faster, near-constant images of Earth.
China is also planning to begin building their own satellite constellations, and the Pentagon has warned of space weapons threats from Russia, which may be able to disable entire satellite networks.
Starshield aims to be more resistant to attacks from sophisticated space powers.
The network is also intended to greatly expand the U.S. government’s remote sensing capabilities and will consist of large image sensor satellites, as well as a larger number of relay satellites that transmit image data and other communications across the network using lasers inter-satellites. , two of the sources said.
The NRO includes personnel from the US Space Force and the CIA and provides classified satellite imagery for the Pentagon and other intelligence agencies.
The spy satellites will host sensors provided by another company, three of the sources said.