SpaceX has been contracted by the Department of Defense’s National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to build a network of hundreds of low-orbiting spy satellites capable of operating as a swarm and tracking targets on the ground, according to . The report, which cites five sources with knowledge of the program, builds on earlier reporting by that revealed SpaceX had signed a $1.8 billion contract in 2021 with an unnamed agency.
This network, called Starshield, would reportedly be able to gather continuous imagery all over Earth for US intelligence, using a mix of large imaging satellites to collect data and relay satellites to transmit information. According to one source who spoke to , it has the potential to make it so “no one can hide.” Neither SpaceX nor the NRO directly confirmed the company’s involvement in the project, but an NRO spokesperson told , “The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen.”
Last fall, it was reported that SpaceX had bagged a $70 million contract with the Space Force to provide satellite communications under its Starshield program. This is a distinct entity from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, at least according to Elon Musk, who has said Starlink “needs to be a civilian network,” whereas Starshield is meant to be used for government and national security purposes.