SpaceX Starshield

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Starshield is a SpaceX program consisting of purpose-built low-Earth orbit satellites designed to provide new "disruptive" military space capabilities to U.S. and allied governments. [1] [2] [3] [4] Starshield was adapted from the global communications network Starlink but brings additional capabilities such as target tracking, optical and radio reconnaissance, and early missile warning. [5] [6] [7] [8] Primary customers include the Space Development Agency, National Reconnaissance Office and the United States Space Force. [5] [9] [10] As of 2024, at least 16 Starshield satellites have been launched, with an unknown number of additional satellites being launched in May as part of NROL-146. [11]

Contents

While SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell has indicated there is little information she is allowed to disclose about Starshield, she has noted "very good collaboration" between the intelligence community and SpaceX on the program. [1] The Starshield website says it has a focus on three areas; Earth observation, communications and hosted payloads. [12] The Wall Street Journal reported that Starshield's online job postings required people with top-secret clearances, as well as experience working with the Defense Department and intelligence community — such as representing Starshield to Pentagon combatant commands. [1]

The program is led by former four-star general Terrence O'Shaughnessy who previously ran U.S. Northern Command. [1]

The first satellites were designed for the Space Development Agency and outfitted with advanced infrared sensors meant to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles. [13] In 2021, Starshield had entered a $1.8 billion classified contract with the U.S. government, revealed in 2023, [1] to construct hundreds of spy satellites for continuous real time monitoring of targets around the globe. [9] These are slated to begin operations from May 2024, starting with NROL-146. These satellites are made in cooperation with Northrop Grumman. [14]

History

Starshield program

The Starshield name was publicly announced December 2022, [15] however in 2021, Starshield had already entered a $1.8 billion classified contract with the U.S. government, revealed in 2023. [1] In the documents of the contract, SpaceX says that funds from the contract were expected to become an important part of the revenue mix of the company after 2021. [1] Reuters revealed in 2024 that this contract was between the National Reconnaissance Office and SpaceX, and for a spy satellite network consisting of hundreds of satellites functioning as a swarm. [9] The satellites will have imaging capabilities and the satellite network will enable the US government to have continuous surveillance of nearly anywhere around the globe. [9] Starshield also plans to be more resilient to attack from other powers. [9] Starshield's imaging capabilities are designed to have superior resolution over most existing U.S. government spying systems. Northrop Grumman was selected to partner with SpaceX with insiders noting "it is in the government's interest to not be totally invested in one company run by one person". [16]

As early as 2020, SpaceX was designing, building, and launching customized satellites based on variants of the Starlink satellite bus for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).

In October 2020, SDA awarded SpaceX an initial $150 million dual-use contract to develop 4 satellites to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles. [13] The first batch of satellites were originally scheduled to launch September 2022 to form part of the Tracking Layer Tranche 0 of the Space Force's National Defense Space Architecture. [17] The launch schedule slipped multiple times but eventually launched in April 2023. [18] [19]

Since 2021, Starlink's government satellite development is overseen internally at SpaceX by retired four-star general Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy.[ citation needed ] [20] [21] O'Shaughnessy advocated before the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services for a layered capability with lethal follow-on that incorporates machine learning and artificial intelligence to gather and act upon sensor data quickly. [22] Terrence O’Shaughnessy reportedly has had a high-level role at Starshield though there is no indication that SpaceX is working on anything related to lethal weapons. [1]

SpaceX was not awarded a contract for the larger Tranche 1, with awards going to York Space Systems, Lockheed Martin Space, and Northrop Grumman Space Systems. [23]

As Starlink was being relied on in the Russo-Ukrainian war, expert on battlefield communications Thomas Wellington argued that Starlink signals, because they use narrow focused beams, are less vulnerable to interference and jamming by the enemy in wartime than satellites flying in higher orbits. [24]

Another Starshield contract was announced in September 2023, involving communications-focused services for U.S. Space Systems Command. [25] [26] This contract with the US Space Force plans to provide customized satellite communications for the military. [27] This is under the Space Force's new "Proliferated Low Earth Orbit" program for LEO satellites, where Space Force will allocate up to $900 million worth of contracts over the next 10 years. Although 16 vendors are competing for awards, the SpaceX contract is the only one to have been issued to date. [25] [27] The one-year Starshield contract was awarded on September 1, 2023. [10] The contract is expected to support 54 mission partners across the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. [10]

In February 2024, the United States House Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party sent a letter to Elon Musk stating that the Starshield program was potentially in breach of contract for not providing access to U.S. troops stationed in Taiwan when "global access" was "possibly" required by the contract. [28] [29] SpaceX responded that they were in full compliance with their U.S. government contracts. SpaceX had notified the Select Committee a week earlier that they were misinformed, but the Select Committee "chose to contact media before seeking additional information [regarding Starshield military use in Taiwan]". [30]

Launches

Between 2020 and March 2024, a dozen Starshield prototypes and operational satellites were launched on Falcon 9. [9] Reuters reported that these satellites have never been acknowledged by SpaceX or the US government and remain classified. [9]

Images were posted online [31] of the two SpaceX-built Space Development Agency Tranche 0 Flight 1 Tracking Layer infrared imaging satellites that launched on 2 April 2023. [32] After the launch of Starlink Group 7-16, only 20 of a batch of 22 starlink satellites were catalogued and the remaining two were later designated as USA-350 and USA-351. [33]

This section is an excerpt from List of Starlink and Starshield launches § Starshield.[ edit ]
Starshield launches [34]
No.Mission Name or DesignationSat. Ver. COSPAR ID Date and time,
UTC 		Launch siteOrbitSatellitesOutcomeCustomer
AltitudeOrbital InclinationDeployedWorking
– USA 312-313 [35] v1.02020-10119 December 2020
14:00:00		 KSC, LC-39A 540 km (340 mi) [36] 53°2 [37] 2Success National Reconnaissance Office
Possibly launched on NROL-108 mission. Likely test Starshield satellites. [38]
1 USA 320-323 v1.52022-00213 January 2022
15:25:38		 CCSFS, SLC-40 525 km (326 mi)97.6°41SuccessUnknown US Government Agency
Likely test versions or operational Starshield satellites. Part of Transporter-3 (SmallSat Rideshare Mission 3).
2 USA 328-331 v1.52022-06419 June 2022
04:27		 CCSFS, SLC-40 535 km (332 mi)52°44SuccessUnknown US Government Agency
Likely test versions or operational Starshield satellites. Launched with Globalstar-2 FM-15 (M087) mission.
3 Tracking Layer (Tranche 0A) v1.52023-0502 April 2023
14:29		 VSFB, SLC-4E 951 km (591 mi) [39] 80.99° [39] 2 [40] 2Success Space Development Agency
Likely operational Starshield satellites. Hosts infrared payloads manufactured by Leidos. Launched with 8 York Space Systems-built Transport layer satellites on this mission. [41] [42]
4 Tracking Layer (Tranche 0B) v1.52023-1332 September 2023
14:25		 VSFB, SLC-4E 951 km (591 mi) [39] 80.99°2 [40] 2Success Space Development Agency
Likely operational Starshield satellites. Hosts infrared payloads manufactured by Leidos. Launched with one York Space Systems-built and 10 Lockheed Martin/Tyvak Space Systems-built Transport layer satellites on this mission. [42]
5 USA 350-351 v2.0 Mini2024-05019 March 2024, 02:28 VSFB, SLC-4E 525 km (326 mi)53.05°22SuccessUnknown US Government Agency
Launched as a part of Starlink Group 7-16 mission. [43] [44]
6 USA 354-3×× v2.0 Mini18 May 2024 VSFB, SLC-4E TBATBA21 [45] TBASuccess National Reconnaissance Office
Launched as a part of NROL-146 mission. [46]
7-11 USA v2.0 Mini2024TBATBATBATBATBAPlanned National Reconnaissance Office
Launching as a part of NROL missions.


See also

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References

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  39. ↑ "The identification of the Electron payload 2024-053A as "USA 352" changes the balance of evidence on the Mar 19 Starlink Group 7-16 launch: it now seems likely that it DID carry two classified payloads, likely Starshield, to be designated USA 350 and USA 351 (59274/59275?)". X (Formerly Twitter).
  40. ↑ "Space-Track have cataloged objects from the Mar 19 Starlink launch and it is now confirmed that two secret satellites were aboard, USA 350 and USA 351 (presumed Starshield sats) that are cataloged as 2024-050W and X (59274 and 59275)".
  41. ↑ https://x.com/Marco_Langbroek/status/1794652980312264915
  42. ↑ "NROL-146 Mission". Next Spaceflight.
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