Agencies
Saturday, March 16, 2024 09:05 PM
Reuters reported, citing five informed sources, that SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites as part of a secret contract with a US intelligence agency.
The sources said that SpaceX’s Starshield unit is responsible for building the satellite network under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office, an intelligence agency that manages spy satellites.
The plans reveal the extent of SpaceX’s participation in American intelligence and military projects, and illustrate the significant investment made by the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) in low-Earth orbit satellite systems that aim to support ground forces.
The sources said that if the program is successful, it will greatly enhance the ability of the US government and the US military to quickly monitor potential targets almost anywhere in the world.
Reuters reports reveal that the SpaceX contract aims to build a powerful new spy system that includes hundreds of satellites that can image the Earth and can work as a group in low orbits, and that the intelligence agency that cooperated with Musk’s company is the National Reconnaissance Office.
The sources explained that satellites can track targets on the ground and share that data with American intelligence and military officials.
She added that this would initially allow the US government to quickly obtain images of activities occurring on the ground almost anywhere in the world, which would assist in intelligence and military operations.
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