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SpaceX gets a contract to build a network of US spy satellites. Photo/Reuters
WASHINGTON – SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites under a secret contract with US intelligence agencies. This was revealed by five sources familiar with the program to Reuters.
It also shows how deep the ties between billionaire businessman Elon Musk's space company and the national security agency have deepened.
The network was built by SpaceX's Starshield business unit based on a contract worth USD 1.8 billion or IDR 28 trillion signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an intelligence agency that manages spy satellites.
The plans show the extent of SpaceX's involvement in US intelligence and military projects and illustrate the Pentagon's greater investment in large low-Earth orbiting satellite systems aimed at supporting ground forces.
If successful, the sources said the program would significantly improve the US government and military's ability to quickly locate potential targets almost anywhere in the world.
The contract signals growing confidence from intelligence agencies in a company whose owners have clashed with the Biden administration and sparked controversy, opening a new tab over the use of Starlink satellite connectivity in the Ukraine war, the sources said.
The Wall Street Journal reported opening a new tab in February the secret Starshield contract worth $1.8 billion with an unknown intelligence agency without detailing the program's purpose.
Reuters reporting revealed for the first time that the SpaceX contract is for a powerful new spy system with hundreds of Earth-imaging satellites that can operate as a swarm in low orbit, and that the spy agency working with Musk's company is the NRO.
Reuters could not determine when the new satellite network would start operating and could not determine which other companies were part of the program under their own contracts.
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 satellite launch. The Pentagon referred requests for comment to the NRO and SpaceX.