THE NEW SPACE RACE/ELON MUSK’S INSURANCE POLICY AGAINST DEEP STATE EFFORTS TO SHUT DOWN SPACEX: SpaceX building hundreds of spy satellites for US government, report says.
SpaceX is “building a network of hundreds of spy satellites” for a US intelligence agency under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021, Reuters reported on Saturday. Reuters cited “five sources familiar with the program” in its report on SpaceX’s classified contract with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), a Defense Department agency that deploys surveillance satellites and calls itself the “global leader in space-based intelligence.”
“The satellites can track targets on the ground and share that data with US intelligence and military officials, the sources said,” according to Reuters. The newly reported details are consistent with a Wall Street Journal report in February 2024 that said SpaceX had “entered into a $1.8 billion classified contract with the US government in 2021.”
Reuters wrote that it “was unable to determine when the new network of satellites would come online” but stated that about a dozen prototype satellites have been launched in the past few years. The prototypes reportedly launched “among other satellites on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets.”
SpaceX, of course, has deployed thousands of low-Earth orbit satellites for its Starlink division that provides broadband service to consumer, business, and government customers. The spy satellites for the NRO also operate in low-Earth orbits, the Reuters report said.
“The plans show the extent of SpaceX’s involvement in US intelligence and military projects and illustrate a deeper Pentagon investment into vast, low-Earth orbiting satellite systems aimed at supporting ground forces,” Reuters wrote. “If successful, the sources said the program would significantly advance the ability of the US government and military to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe.”
Combine that ability with “rods from God” and other rapid-delivery systems and you’ve really got something.
On the other hand, after everything else we’ve learned about Washington these last several years, I hope Musk built in a single kill switch for the entire constellation.