Joey Roulette and Marisa Taylor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a secret contract with the U.S. spy agency, five sources familiar with the program said, demonstrating deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s space company and national security agencies.
The network is being built by SpaceX’s Starshield business unit as part of a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the spy agency that operates spy satellites, the sources said.
The plans show the extent of SpaceX’s involvement in U.S. intelligence and military projects and illustrate the Pentagon’s deeper investments in huge low-orbit satellite systems designed to support ground troops.
If successful, sources say, the program will greatly enhance the ability of the U.S. government and military to quickly detect potential targets virtually anywhere on the globe.
The contract signals growing confidence among the intelligence community in the company, whose owner has clashed with the Biden administration and sparked controversy over the use of Starlink satellite communications in the war in Ukraine, the sources said.
In February, the Wall Street Journal reported the existence of a secret $1.8 billion Starshield contract with an unknown intelligence agency, without going into detail about the program’s goals.
The Reuters report reveals for the first time that SpaceX’s contract is to build a powerful new spy system with hundreds of Earth-imaging satellites that can act as a swarm in low orbits, and that the spy agency Musk’s company is working with is NRA.
Reuters was unable to determine when the new network of satellites would be operational and could not determine which other companies were involved in the program and had their own contracts.
SpaceX, the world’s largest satellite operator, did not respond to several requests for comment about the contract, its role in it and details of satellite launches. The Pentagon sent a request for comment to NRO and SpaceX.
In its statement, NRO acknowledged its mission to develop a complex satellite system and its partnerships with other government agencies, companies, research institutions and countries, 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 powerful, diverse and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen,” the spokesman said.
The satellites can track targets on the ground and relay that data to U.S. intelligence officials and the military, the sources said. In principle, this would allow the US government to quickly obtain continuous images of ongoing events almost anywhere on the globe, aiding intelligence and military operations, they added.
About a dozen prototypes have been launched since 2020, including other satellites on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, three sources said.
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 acknowledged. Two sources have confirmed that these are prototypes of the Starshield network.
All sources asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to discuss the US government program.
The Pentagon is already a major SpaceX customer and uses its Falcon 9 rockets to launch military payloads into space. The first prototype of the Starshield satellite, launched in 2020, was part of a separate contract worth about $200 million that helped SpaceX win a subsequent $1.8 billion award, one of the people said.
The planned Starshield network is separate from Starlink, SpaceX’s growing commercial broadband constellation, which has 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 US government’s most sought-after capabilities in space, as it is designed to provide the most constant, comprehensive and rapid coverage of activities on Earth.
“No one can hide,” one source said of the system’s potential, describing the network’s reach.
Musk, also the founder and CEO of Tesla (NASDAQ:) and owner of the social network X, has promoted innovation in space but has caused frustration among some officials in the Biden administration due to his past control of Starlink in Ukraine, where the Kiev military is using it to secure connections in the conflict with Russia. The fact that Musk, and not the US military, had authority over Starlink in the war zone created tension between him and the US government.
A series of articles by Reuters detailed how Musk’s manufacturing operations, including at SpaceX, harmed consumers and workers.
The Starshield network is part of an 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 in higher orbits. Instead, a vast low-Earth orbit network could provide faster and near-constant imagery of the Earth.
China also plans to begin building its own satellite constellations, and the Pentagon has warned of the threat of space weapons from Russia that could knock out entire satellite networks.
Starshield aims to become more resilient to attacks from sophisticated space powers.
The network is also intended to significantly expand the U.S. government’s remote sensing capabilities and will consist of large satellites with image sensors, as well as more relay satellites that transmit image data and other messages across the network using intersatellite lasers. Two sources reported this.
The NRO includes members of the US Space Force and the CIA, and also provides classified satellite imagery to the Pentagon and other intelligence agencies.
The spy satellites will carry sensors provided by another company, three of the sources said.