SpaceX has signed a $1.8 billion deal with a U.S. intelligence agency to produce a network of hundreds of spy satellites, according to an exclusive report from Reuters. In 2021, SpaceX’s Starshield began working on a classified, highly-sophisticated constellation of satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, which manages such satellites. Sources spoke to the speed and immense reach of the satellites’ Earth imaging technology, which will be used to help track targets in U.S. intelligence and military operations. “No one can hide,” one of the sources said, when discussing the potential power of the program. This deal demonstrates the U.S. government’s growing reliance on the company’s billionaire owner Elon Musk, who has previously used his commercial satellite program Starlink at his discretion to sabotage a Ukrainian attack on Russia. Last week, House Democrats demanded documents in their investigation of SpaceX over reports that Russia had been able to use Starlink, in its assault on Ukraine.
