SpaceX is reportedly building hundreds of spy satellites for the US government

SpaceX has been awarded a contract by the Defense Department’s National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to build a network of hundreds of low-orbit spy satellites capable of operating as a swarm and tracking targets on the ground, according to . The Reuters report, which cited five sources familiar with the program, builds on earlier reports from which revealed that SpaceX had signed a $1.8 billion contract in 2021 with an unnamed agency.

This network, called Starshield, will reportedly be able to collect continuous images from around the Earth for US intelligence, using a combination of large imaging satellites to gather data and relay satellites to transmit information. According to a source who spoke to Reuters, has the potential to make it so that “no one can hide.” Neither SpaceX nor the NRO directly confirmed the company’s involvement in the project, but an NRO spokesperson said Reuters“The National Intelligence Service is developing the most capable, diverse and sustainable space intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen.”

Last fall, it was reported that SpaceX was supposed to provide satellite communications under its Starshield program. It’s a different object than SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, at least according to it who said Starlink “must be a civilian network” while Starshield is intended to be used for government and national security purposes.