SpaceX has been contracted by the Department of Defense’s National Reconnaissance Office to build a network of hundreds of low-orbiting spy satellites capable of operating as a swarm and tracking targets on the ground, according toThis network, called Starshield, would reportedly be able to gather continuous imagery all over Earth for US intelligence, using a mix of large imaging satellites to collect data and relay satellites to transmit information.
” Neither SpaceX nor the NRO directly confirmed the company’s involvement in the project, but an NRO spokesperson told,"The National Reconnaissance Office is developing the most capable, diverse, and resilient space-based intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system the world has ever seen.”to provide satellite communications under its Starshield program.