Billionaire Musk’s Agency Building US Spy Satellites
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Stars watchers will soon get more than they bargained for as the space agency of one of the world’s wealthiest men is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites for the United States, several sources confirmed Sunday.
SpaceX, run by billionaire Elon Musk, signed a classified contract with a U.S. intelligence agency, American sources familiar with the program said.
The network is reportedly built by SpaceX’s Starshield business unit under a $1.8 billion contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office, or NRO, an intelligence agency that manages spy satellites.
The deal demonstrates “deepening ties between billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s space company and national security agencies,” Reuters news agency commented.
It was not immediately clear when the new network of satellites would start operating and whether other firms would participate in the program with their contracts.
If successful, sources said, it will “significantly advance the ability of the U.S. government and military to spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe quickly.”
The NRO confirmed the satellite spy mission partnerships with other government agencies, companies, research institutions, and nations. It declined to comment on SpaceX’s involvement.
SPACE-BASED INTELLIGENCE
“The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen,” the NRO added in published remarks.
“No one can hide,” one of the sources said of the system’s potential capability.
“No one can hide,” one of the sources said of the system’s potential capability. The source suggested that author George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984” becomes a reality 40 years later in 2024.
Orwell’s phrase “Big Brother is watching you” about constant government surveillance will be rolled out for virtually every corner of the world, Worthy News learned.
The satellites can reportedly track targets on the ground and share that data with U.S. intelligence and military officials.
The sources said that, in principle, the United States can quickly capture continuous imagery of activities on the ground nearly anywhere, aiding intelligence and military operations.
Roughly a dozen prototypes have been launched since 2020, among other satellites on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets, sources said.
GROWING INFLUENCE
Yet it raised questions about Musk’s growing influence as SpaceX already launched scores of Starlink satellites to provide internet at various places globally.
U.S. House Democrats are investigating SpaceX over whether Russia accessed the company’s Starlink satellite internet service as part of its ongoing war against Ukraine.
Starlink entered a contract last year to deploy more than 400 of its terminals to Ukraine, where they provide high-speed internet connections.
These channels are vital to Kyiv’s battlefield communications when losing ground to Russia’s invading army.
Russia has denied that its troops use Starlink, a subsidiary of the Elon Musk-owned SpaceX.
Following reports of misuse, SpaceX’s owner, Musk, said the company had not sold any Starlink terminals to Russia directly.
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