Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites for one of America’s secret services. In recent years, it has launched several prototypes of these satellites into space, which would be used to take pictures, the Reuters agency wrote on Saturday, citing five informed sources.
According to a new report, a client of Musk’s company is the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The contract with the NRO worth 1.8 billion dollars (over 40 billion CZK) falls under the SpaceX department called Starshield and shows the strengthening ties between the company and the American security apparatus, writes Reuters.
He drew attention to the existence of the contract last month daily The Wall Street Journal, which also pointed to the deepening cooperation between SpaceX and the US intelligence and military branches. He noted that the company has been launching military and secret satellites into space for a long time, but not much information is available about the work of the Starshield division.
The contract with the NRO, which manages the spy satellite, was signed by SpaceX in 2021, according to Reuters. “If successful, the program would greatly enhance the ability of the United States government and military to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the planet,” the news agency continues.
According to her, SpaceX is preparing a “powerful” system of satellites for the government that could operate in low Earth orbit. Since 2020, the company has sent a dozen prototypes into space on Falcon 9 rockets alongside other satellites, the trio of unnamed sources said.
Reuters reporters did not find out when the spy network could be fully operational. SpaceX did not respond to questions about the project, and the NRO only stated that it strives to develop sophisticated satellite systems and that it also cooperates with private companies in this direction.
2024-03-16 22:59:44
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