SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of reconnaissance satellites for US intelligence services, Reuters reports.
SpaceX signed a $1.8 billion contract with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a US intelligence agency, to build the satellite network. This contract is carried out by SpaceX’s military satellite division, called Starshield.
The reconnaissance satellite network consists of a large imaging satellite and a number of relay satellites that would be capable of continuously collecting images of the entire planet for US intelligence services.
“No one will be able to hide”
“No one will be able to hide,” a source told Reuters of the system’s potential capabilities. The source also said that if successful, the program would significantly enhance the ability of the U.S. government and military to quickly spot targets almost anywhere in the world.
Neither SpaceX nor the NRO would confirm their participation in the project, but an NRO spokesperson said: “The NRO develops the most capable, diverse and advanced space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems resistant to the world.
This shows SpaceX’s deep involvement in the US government’s military and intelligence gathering projects. The Pentagon is already investing in low-orbit broadband satellite systems. Last fall, SpaceX also reportedly signed a $70 million contract with the US Department of Defense’s Space Force, again as part of the Starshield division.
Source: “ZDNet Korea”