SpaceX builds spy satellites for the US government!

Elon Musk's SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a classified contract with a US intelligence agency. This project shows the deepening of relations between Elon Musk's space company and US national security organizations.

According to the Tekna news agency's aerospace service, this network was built by the Starshield business unit of SpaceX under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) (the intelligence agency that manages spy satellites). will be

The program reflects the breadth of SpaceX's involvement in U.S. intelligence and military projects, as well as the Pentagon's deeper investment in massive, low-Earth-orbit satellite systems intended to support ground forces.

If successful, the program would significantly increase the ability of the US government and military to quickly identify potential targets almost anywhere in the world, the sources said. The deal reflects growing confidence among intelligence agencies in a company whose owner has clashed with the Biden administration and sparked controversy over the use of Starlink satellite connectivity in the Ukraine war.

Techna Media is revealing for the first time that the SpaceX contract is for a powerful new spy system with hundreds of Earth-imaging satellites that can operate in groups in low orbit, and that the spy agency Musk's company is working with is NRO. SpaceX, the world's largest satellite operator, did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the contract, its role in it and details of the launch of the satellites. The Pentagon referred requests for comment to the NRO and SpaceX.

In a statement, the NRO declined to comment on Reuters' findings about the extent of SpaceX's involvement in the effort, while affirming its mission to develop an advanced satellite system and its partnerships with other government agencies, companies, research institutions and countries.

“The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse and resilient space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen,” said an NRO spokesperson.

The satellites can track targets on the ground and share that data with U.S. military and intelligence officials, the sources said. They added that this would allow the US government to rapidly capture continuous images of ground activity almost anywhere in the world, aiding intelligence and military operations.

As of 2020, about a dozen prototypes have been launched alongside other satellites on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets, according to three sources. The US government's database of objects in orbit shows that several SpaceX missions have deployed satellites that neither the company nor the government have ever approved. Two sources confirmed that these were prototypes for the Starshield network.

All the sources asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the US government's plan. The Pentagon is already one of SpaceX's biggest customers and uses its Falcon 9 rockets to launch military payloads into space. The first Starshield prototype satellite, launched in 2020, was part of a separate nearly $200 million contract that helped position SpaceX for a subsequent $1.8 billion award, one of the sources said.

The planned Starshield network is from Starlink, SpaceX's growing commercial broadband portfolio of about 5,500 satellites in space to provide nearly universal Internet to consumers, businesses and government agencies.