ALBAWABA – After the Wall Street Journal reported In February on SpaceX reaching an agreement of $1.8 billion with a U.S. intelligence agency in 2021, a new report by Reuters reveals that the spaceship manufacturer is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
In the 2021 agreement, SpaceX saw to develop the “Starshield” network, which according to the company’s website, aims to supports national security initiatives by using SpaceX's launching capacity and Starlink technology, with earth observing satellites that provide processed data, governmental communications to military clients, as well as supporting high-demand payload missions.
The contract, which Reuters report based on five sources familiar with the deal, states that if the project succeeds would substantially enhance the U.S. government's and military's capacity to identify possible targets practically anywhere around the world with speed and accuracy, according to the sources.
When the new satellite framework would go live and which additional entities are involved in the project under separate contracts were not disclosed to Reuters, however, it is revealed that that the SpaceX deal is for an advanced new espionage system consisting of several hundred satellites with the capacity to collect images of the planet and that can function as a cluster within a low altitude.
The NRO acknowledged in a statement that it is working to create an advanced satellite system and that it has partnered with other governmental organizations, businesses, universities, and countries, a spokesperson stated that “The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen.”
