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SpaceX is reportedly working with at least one U. S. defense prime contractor, Northrop Grumman, on a constellation of spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.
According to Reuters, the evolution of SpaceX’s spy satellite network is coordinated with several contractors to avoid giving too much to a very sensitive intelligence program in the hands of a single company.
“It’s in the government’s interest to fully invest in a company through a single person,” one of the news agency’s resources said, likely referring to SpaceX founder Elon Musk.
Northrop will supply sensors for a subset of the constellation’s satellites (at least 50 of them) and those spacecraft at its own facility before they are launched into orbit, Reuters reports.
The news company first revealed in March the life of a contract between SpaceX and the National Reconnaissance Office, which aims to operate U. S. spy satellites. The network is being built through SpaceX’s Starshield business unit as part of a $1. 8 billion contract signed in 2021.
While this network is separate from SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, the National Reconnaissance Office contract leverages SpaceX’s ability to launch a giant number of Starlink satellites into orbit with its existing production facilities and the reusable Falcon Nine rocket. The existing Starlink megaconstellation has more than 5,700 operational satellites. .
This constellation of spy satellites is “proliferating” because swarms of satellites will be introduced into low-Earth orbit to provide imagery and other capabilities, and they are expected to be less vulnerable to enemy attacks due to their sheer numbers.
While no country has ever attacked its satellites, major powers in the area, including the United States, Russia, and China, are obviously implementing such measures. A clever reference for those efforts is the Secure World Foundation’s annual report on global counterarea capabilities.
In its report, Reuters suggests that the high-quality imagery sensors of SpaceX satellites in low-Earth orbit will outperform the solution of some of the U. S. spy satellites at higher altitudes. They can also be an excellent choice for current drone and reconnaissance use. aircraft, which can be difficult to fly in the airspace of other countries.
The first elements of this proliferated constellation are expected to be introduced next month from Vandenberg Space Force Base from the NROL-146 mission. According to Troy Meink, senior deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office, this will be the first of six such launches. in 2024.
“This launch will be the first of a true operational formula,” Meink said at the area’s annual symposium earlier this month. “This formula will increase the speed of access, the diversity of communication channels, and our resilience. “
Typically, in its 22 years in business, SpaceX has avoided deep partnerships with classic aerospace contractors, Northrop Grumman added. In fact, early on, SpaceX had a legal confrontation with Northrop over the generation of pivot engine injectors used in the Merlin rocket. engine that powered the Falcon 1 rocket and then the Falcon nine rocket. SpaceX fought back, alleging that Northrop had abused his position as an adviser within the Air Force to spy on SpaceX. In the end, both lawsuits were dropped without damage.
More than a decade later, SpaceX unveiled the “Zuma” satellite, an ultra-expensive classified spacecraft valued at more than $3 billion and built through Northrop for the National Reconnaissance Office. The launch of a Falcon nine rocket was a success in January 2018. however, the spacecraft was later lost. The failure was later attributed to a payload adapter provided through Northrop Grumman; This was never publicly confirmed.
The U. S. government obviously hopes that this collaboration between SpaceX and Northrop will have a happier fate.
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