SpaceX Builds Network Of Hundreds Of Spy Satellites For US Intelligence Agency

JAKARTA - SpaceX, a space company owned by billionaire Elon Musk, is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a secret contract with a US intelligence agency. This was reported by five sources familiar with the program, which shows an increasingly close relationship between the space company owned by Musk and the national security agency.

The network is being built by SpaceX's Starshield business unit in a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an intelligence agency that manages spy satellites, sources said.

The plan shows the extent of SpaceX's involvement in US intelligence and military projects and illustrates deeper investment from the Pentagon into a low-orbit satellite system to support ground forces.

If successful, the program, sources said, would significantly increase the US government and military's ability to quickly track potential targets anywhere in the world.

The contract signifies the growing trust of intelligence agencies in companies whose owners have collided with the Joe Biden Administration and has caused controversy over the use of Starlink satellite connectivity in the war in Ukraine.

Reuters reports for the first time that SpaceX's contract is for a powerful new spy system with hundreds of satellites equipped with Earth's image-taking capabilities and can operate as a herd in low orbit, and that the spy agency in collaboration with Musk's company is NRO.

Reuters was unable to determine when the new satellite network would operate and could not confirm what other companies were part of the program with their own contracts.

SpaceX, the world's largest satellite operator, did not respond to some requests for comment on the contracts, their roles in it, and details of satellite launches. The Pentagon directed a request for comment on NRO and SpaceX.

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

"National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system ever," said a spokesman.

The satellites can track targets on land and share these data with US intelligence and military officials, sources said. "In principle, it will allow the US government to quickly get a persistent picture of activity on the mainland almost anywhere in the world, assisting intelligence and military operations," they added.

About twelve prototypes have been launched since 2020, among other satellites on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, three sources said.

The US government's database of objects in orbit shows several SpaceX missions that have launched satellites that neither the company nor the government have recognized. Two sources confirmed that the satellites were prototypes for the Starshield network.

All of these sources asked to remain anonymous because they were not allowed to discuss the US government's program.

The Pentagon has become a huge customer of SpaceX, using its Falcon 9 rocket to launch military payloads into space. Starshield's first prototype satellite, launched in 2020, is part of a separate contract worth about $200 million which helps SpaceX to get the next $1.8 billion award, one source said.

The Starshield network is planned separately from Starlink, SpaceX's growing commercial broadband constellation, which has about 5,500 satellites in space to provide nearly global internet to consumers, companies and government agencies.

The spy satellite constellation is one of the most desirable capabilities by the US government in space because it is designed to offer the most persistent, absorbed, and fast coverage of activity on Earth.

"No one can hide," said one source of the system's potential capabilities, describing the network's reach.

Musk, co-founder and CEO of Tesla, and owner of social media company X, has been driving innovation in space but has frustrated some officials in Biden administration for his past control over Starlink in Ukraine, where the Kyiv military uses it for secure communication in conflict with Russia. The authorities over Starlink are in the war zone by Musk, and not the US military, creating tension between him and the US government.

A number of Reuters stories have detailed how Musk's manufacturing operations, including on SpaceX, have harmed consumers and workers.

The Starshield network is part of an increasingly intense competition between the US and its competitors to become the dominant military force in space, in part by expanding the spy satellite system away from large and expensive spacecraft in higher orbits. In contrast, networks in large low orbits can provide faster and almost constant mapping of the earth.

China also plans to start building its own constellation of satellites, and the Pentagon has warned about the threat of space weapons from Russia, which could disable the entire satellite network.

Starshield aims to be more resilient to attacks from advanced space powers.

The network is also intended to greatly expand the US government's remote sensing capabilities and will consist of large satellites with imaging sensors, as well as a large number of relay satellites that miss imaging and other communications data across the network using inter-satellite lasers, two sources said.

NRO engages personnel from the US and CIA Space Forces and provides classified satellite images for Pentagon and other intelligence agencies. Spy satellites will have sensors provided by other companies, three sources said.