SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a secret contract with U.S. intelligence agencies, five people familiar with the program said, and billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk. space companies and national security agencies are deepening.
The network is being built by SpaceX's StarShield business unit under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the intelligence agency that manages spy satellites. said the person.
The plan shows the scope of SpaceX's involvement in U.S. intelligence and military projects and marks a deepening of the Pentagon's investment in a massive low-Earth orbit satellite system aimed at supporting ground forces. .
If successful, the project would greatly improve the U.S. government and military's ability to rapidly locate potential targets almost anywhere on the planet, officials said.
The deal signals growing confidence by intelligence agencies in a company whose owner has clashed with the Biden administration and sparked controversy over its use of Starlink satellite connections in the Ukraine war, the people said.
In February, the Wall Street Journal reported on the existence of a secret $1.8 billion StarShield contract with an unknown intelligence agency, without elaborating on the purpose of the program.
Reuters reports that the deal with SpaceX is for a powerful new spy system with hundreds of satellites with earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a swarm in low orbit, with Musk's company collaborating. The spy agency that does this is the NRO.
Reuters could not determine when the new satellite network would become operational, or say which other companies are participating in the program with their own contracts.
SpaceX, the world's largest satellite operator, did not respond to several requests for comment about the contract, its role or the details of the satellite launch. The Department of Defense has requested comment from the NRO and SpaceX.
In a statement, the NRO acknowledged its mission to develop advanced satellite systems and its partnerships with other government agencies, businesses, research institutes and nations, but did not comment on the findings of a Reuters investigation into the extent of SpaceX's involvement in this effort. He declined to comment.
“The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen,” the spokesperson said.
The satellites can track targets on the ground and share that data with U.S. intelligence and military officials, officials said. In principle, this could allow the U.S. government to rapidly capture continuous images of ground activity almost anywhere on the planet, supporting intelligence and military operations, he added.
About 12 prototypes have been launched since 2020, including other satellites aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, three people familiar with the matter said.
A U.S. government database of objects in orbit shows several missions that have deployed satellites that neither SpaceX nor the government has previously acknowledged. Two sources confirmed that these are prototypes of the Starshield network.
All involved requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the U.S. government's plans.
The Department of Defense is already a big SpaceX customer, using Falcon 9 rockets to launch military payloads into space. StarShield's first prototype satellite, launched in 2020, was part of a separate approximately $200 million contract that helped position SpaceX for a subsequent $1.8 billion award. said one of the people.
The planned StarShield network will be part of StarShield, SpaceX's growing commercial broadband constellation that will carry approximately 5,500 satellites in space and provide near-global Internet to consumers, businesses, and government agencies. This is different from a link.
The clandestine spy satellite constellation represents one of the U.S. government's most sought-after capabilities in space, as it is designed to provide the most persistent, widespread, and rapid coverage of activities on Earth.
“Nobody can hide” the system's potential, one of the sources said, explaining the network's reach.
Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla and owner of social media company Its past control over Ukraine's Starlink has frustrated some Biden administration officials. Communications in the conflict with Russia. Musk's authority over Starlink in war zones, rather than the US military, has created tension between him and the US government.
A series of Reuters articles detail how Musk's manufacturing operations, including SpaceX, are harming consumers and workers.
The StarShield network is part of an escalating race between the United States and its rivals to become the dominant military power in space by expanding spy satellite systems from larger, more expensive spacecraft in higher orbits. . Instead, a vast low-Earth orbit network will enable faster and near-constant imaging of the Earth.
China also plans to start building its own constellation of satellites, and the Pentagon is warning of a space weapons threat from Russia that could cripple the entire satellite network.
Starshield aims to increase resistance to attacks from advanced space forces.
The network is also intended to significantly expand the U.S. government's remote sensing capabilities, using large satellites with imaging sensors and numerous satellites that use intersatellite lasers to pass imaging data and other communications over the network. It consists of relay satellites. Two people involved said.
The NRO includes personnel from the U.S. Space Force and the CIA, and provides classified satellite imagery to the Department of Defense and other intelligence agencies.
The reconnaissance satellite will be equipped with sensors provided by another company, three people familiar with the matter said.
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