Spacex is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a #classified contract w/a US intelligence agency, 5 sources familiar w/the program said, demonstrating deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur #ElonMusk's space company & #NationalSecurity agencies.
The network is being built by #SpaceX's #Starshield business unit under a $1.8B contract signed in 2021 w/the National Reconnaissance Office (#NRO), an #intelligence agency that manages #SpySatellites, the sources said.
The plans show the extent of SpaceX's involvement in #UnitedStates intelligence & #military projects & illustrate a deeper #Pentagon investment into vast, low-Earth orbiting #satellite systems aimed at supporting ground forces.
If successful, the sources said the program would significantly advance the ability of the #UnitedStates government & #military to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe.
The contract signals growing trust by the #intelligence establishment of a company whose owner has clashed w/the #Biden admin and sparked controversy over the use of #Starlink#satellite connectivity in the Ukraine war, the sources said.
Reuters reporting discloses for the first time that the #SpaceX contract is for a powerful new #spy system w/hundreds of #satellites bearing Earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a swarm in low orbits, & that the spy agency that Musk's company is working w/is the #NRO.
Reuters was unable to determine when the new network of satellites would come online & could not establish what other companies are part of the program w/their own contracts.