SpaceX’s spy satellite network plan as the U.S. confronts China’s “internet killing”

SPACEX is reportedly working with defense giant Northrop Grumman to build a fleet of spy satellites as part of a secret deal with U.S. intelligence agencies.

This follows comments made earlier this month by senior Space Force commanders about China’s vast network of tracking satellites.

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The satellites are believed to be monitoring Western military operations on the ground – and the United States wants capabilities to match.

China’s rapid progress in space has prompted the Space Force to conduct its first off-terrestrial military exercises to test how to defend against “on-orbit aggression” by adversaries.

According to Reuters, SpaceX is building hundreds of spy satellites under its Starshield unit as part of a confidential $1.8 billion contract.

There are multiple contractors working alongside SpaceX.

In this way, unnamed U.S. intelligence agencies could avoid a situation where one company and one boss would be exposed to a large amount of highly sensitive information about top-secret programs.

“It is in the interest of the government not to invest entirely in a company run by one person,” a source at the news agency said, most likely referring to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

Northrop, one of the world’s largest defense suppliers, will provide sensors for at least 50 satellites in the constellation.

According to Reuters, all spy satellites will be tested at Northrop’s facilities before being launched into orbit.

Sources said the plan would significantly improve the White House and U.S. military’s ability to detect and track “targets” anywhere in the world.

The satellites are rumored to be imaging satellites so operators can capture ground activity from a distance.

The timeline for the program is unclear, so it’s impossible to say when the new satellite network will come online.

But three sources said about a dozen prototypes have been launched since 2020, including other satellites on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets.

SpaceX and Northrop Grumman occasionally fly classified space payload missions.

Northrop’s next classified mission, known as NROL-174, is scheduled to launch later this month.

The National Reconnaissance Office – the satellite construction arm of the Department of Defense – has not acknowledged SpaceX’s involvement in the program.

Instead, the spokesman said: “The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems in the world.”

China’s influence

Under President Xi Jinping, China will spend around $US14 billion ($11.2 billion) on its ambitious space program through 2023, according to Statista.

Earlier this month, Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, told reporters at the 39th Space Symposium: “Frankly, China is advancing at an alarming rate.

“Since 2018, China has more than tripled the number of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance satellites in orbit.

“Through these systems, they have established a kill network across the Pacific to discover, repair, track and, yes, target U.S. and allied military capabilities.”

The U.S. Marine Corps defines the “kill network” as “a dynamic network that seamlessly integrates intelligence and warfare capabilities across land, sea, air, space and cyberspace.”

Whiting said the country “has built a range of counter-space weapons, from reversible jamming all the way to kinetic strike-kill helicopters and co-orbital anti-satellite weapons.”

China has also revealed plans to take its “all-seeing” Skynet surveillance beyond the moon as part of a global effort to establish permanent living facilities on the moon.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has been outspoken about his concerns about China’s space activities – activities that Beijing says are purely scientific.

Nelson warned this week that China was hiding other military projects in space, which could lead to Beijing trying to claim parts of the moon as its own territory.