Elon Musk’s secretive Starshield project will allow the US military to track targets and support American and allied ground forces in real time almost anywhere on Earth, Reuters has reported, sharing new details of the billionaire’s dealings with the Pentagon.

SpaceX has been launching prototype military satellites alongside “civilian” payloads on Falcon 9 rockets since at least 2020, before eventually securing a lucrative $1.8 billion contract with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) in 2021, Reuters wrote on Saturday, citing five unnamed sources familiar with the project.

The vast constellation of low-Earth orbit satellites will be able to track targets on the ground in real time nearly anywhere worldwide, the sources claimed. One of them boasted that Starshield would ensure “no one can hide” from the US government. The system also reportedly aims to be “more resilient to attacks” by rival space powers.

…

SpaceX’s increasing involvement in US’ military deployment poses a new threat to world peace and stability, and may even impact the everyday lives of ordinary people around the world, experts warned after the company is reportedly building a powerful spy satellite network using hundreds of its satellites for US intelligence agencies.

In an exclusive report from Reuters on Saturday, the commercial space giant is allegedly building a network of spy satellites under a classified contract worth $1.8 billion with a US intelligence agency called the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Reuters said, citing sources familiar with the program.

A special business unit under SpaceX, Starshield, is undertaking the project, the sources revealed, and if successful, it would significantly advance the US military’s ability to quickly spot potential targets “almost anywhere on the globe,” the reports said.

The reason the NRO chose SpaceX was mainly due to the company’s advantage in the number of small satellites it has in orbit, which allows for maximum coverage of more orbital levels, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert and media commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday.

“The large number of satellites can enable the monitoring of a certain area without any blind spots, not only in coverage but also in time duration, thereby creating an all-encompassing spy network above the heads of all countries around the world,” Wei said.

Starshield was established in December 2022, when the company announced it was “expanding its Starlink satellite technology into military applications.” The target customers of Starshield includes the Pentagon and other national security agencies.

Coverage: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202403/1308988.shtml

(GT archive link)

https://www.rt.com/news/594364-musk-starshield-spy-satellites/

(RT archive link)

https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/musks-spacex-is-building-spy-satellite-network-us-intelligence-agency-sources-2024-03-16/

(reuters archive link)

  • Nakoichi [they/them]@hexbear.netEnglish
    10·
    8 months ago

    So we can all be pretty sure Musk is just a patsy for setting up this vast spy satellite network right?

    Like no other explanation tracks what with it jeopardizing future space launches in such an insane way.

    There is no way he would be allowed to do this without getting gunpoint right?

    • darkcalling@lemmygrad.mlOP
      14·
      8 months ago

      He’s a contractor, not a patsy.

      A top bourgeoisie contractor.

      The satellites will I think almost certainly be managed by the US NRO office and its sites, I don’t think Musk/Starlink are doing more than manufacturing them and putting them into position using tech and knowledge gained from their Starlink system. But even that should paint a target on his so-called civilian system which as we know has been used in Ukraine to help organize terrorist attacks as well as military strikes making it and Musk a party (he did stop them from sinking the Russian fleet in the black sea in a big attack but only because he was rightly concerned such a move would force the Russians to respond and take out a large chunk of his network or even the whole thing).