Engineering:SpaceX Starshield

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Short description: SpaceX satellite series for government customers

Starshield is a business unit of SpaceX creating purpose-built low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites designed to provide new 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 (SDA), National Reconnaissance Office and the United States Space Force.[5][9][10] As of 2025, at least 183 Starshield satellites have been launched, with the latest batch of 22 satellites being launched in April 2025 as part of NROL-145.

While SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell has indicated that 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 U.S. Congressional Research Service reports that future satellites in Starshield's participating SDA program may wield interceptor missiles, hypersonic projectiles, or directed energy weapons,[8] with the program's founder[6] adding "since Reagan’s day, technology has advanced enough that putting both sensors and shooters in space is not only possible but relatively easy."[7] According to SDA director Derek Tournear, later satellites will take on the “extremely difficult” task of maintaining contact with missiles in flight.[11]

The former four-star general Terrence O'Shaughnessy, who previously ran U.S. Northern Command, is the vice president for SpaceX's Special Programs Group who is thought to be involved with Starshield.[1] 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] For weapons manufacturing, eight senior Starshield leaders formed an additional company Castelion, to develop mass produced hypersonic strike weapons, potentially for use as space-based interceptors[12][13]

The first satellites were designed for the SDA and outfitted with advanced infrared sensors meant to detect and track ballistic and hypersonic missiles.[5] 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 began operations from May 2024, starting with NROL-146. These satellites are made in cooperation with Northrop Grumman.[14]

History

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 that "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).

Elon Musk and (now retired) four-star general Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy meet in April 2019

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.[5] 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 was rescheduled multiple times but it eventually launched in April 2023.[18][19]

In 2020, SpaceX hired retired four-star general Terrence J. O'Shaughnessy who according to some sources is associated with Starlink's military satellite development and according to one source is listed as a "chief operating officer" at SpaceX.[20][21] While still in active duty, 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] As of 2024, Terrence O’Shaughnessy reportedly has had a high-level role at Starshield,[1] with SpaceX reportedly vying for contracts for the Golden Dome space weapons system.[23]

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.[24]

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.[25] Although there is no lethal weapons being developed this technology is being used by the military and it "can be integrated onto partner satellites to enable incorporation into the Starshield network."[26] Therefore, if the military needed the use of SpaceX satellites through the Starshield program SpaceX "currently has over 3,000 satellites in low Earth orbit that beam the signal back to users' receiver dishes."[27]

Another Starshield contract was announced in September 2023, involving communications-focused services for U.S. Space Systems Command.[28][29] This contract with the US Space Force plans to provide customized satellite communications for the military.[30] 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.[28][30] 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.[31][32] 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]".[33]

In the context of military communication satellites, Col. Eric Felt, director of space architecture at the office of the assistant secretary of the Air Force for space acquisition and integration, said that there are plans to acquire at least 100 Starshield-branded satellites for this purpose by 2029. He said that while the military is an active user of SpaceX's commercial Starlink service, they also want to take advantage of the company's dedicated Starshield product line. Clare Hopper, head of the Space Force’s Commercial Satellite Communications Office (CSCO) stated that demand for Starlink's commercial service is "off the charts" and that currently all of their supported users are still using the commercial Starlink satellite constellation, but that the DoD has "unique service plans that contain privileged capabilities and features that are not available commercially".[34]

Space-to-ground signal

NPR reported in October 2025 that the Starshield network had begun sending unknown communications from the satellite constellation to targets on Earth in a downlink, transmitting data from space to land.[35] The involved spectrum and signal range involved are normally reserved by international standards for uplinks, or sending data from land to space, violating International Telecommunication Union standards and risking harm to other satellites and their communications.[35] The ongoing incident involving the classified American satellite constellation was discovered by a hobbyist astronomer in British Columbia.[35] The unknown signals are all reported to be in the 2025–2110 MHz range.[35]

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[36] of the two SpaceX-built Space Development Agency Tranche 0 Flight 1 Tracking Layer infrared imaging satellites that launched on 2 April 2023.[37] 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.[38]

This section is an excerpt from List of Starlink and Starshield launches#Starshield[ edit ]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 FitzGerald, Micah Maidenberg and Drew. "Musk's SpaceX Forges Tighter Links With U.S. Spy and Military Agencies" (in en-US). The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/tech/musks-spacex-forges-tighter-links-with-u-s-spy-and-military-agencies-512399bd. 
  2. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (2023-01-19). "With Starshield, SpaceX readies for battle" (in en-US). https://spacenews.com/with-starshield-spacex-readies-for-battle/. 
  3. ↑ "SpaceX - Starshield". https://www.spacex.com/starshield/. 
  4. ↑ Sheetz, Michael (2022-12-05). "SpaceX unveils 'Starshield,' a military variation of Starlink satellites" (in en). https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/05/spacex-unveils-starshield-a-military-variation-of-starlink-satellites.html. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Erwin, Sandra (5 October 2020). "L3Harris, SpaceX win Space Development Agency contracts to build missile-warning satellites". https://spacenews.com/spacex-l3harris-win-space-development-agency-contracts-to-build-missile-warning-satellites/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Erwin, Sandra (21 April 2019). "Space Development Agency a huge win for Griffin in his war against the status quo". https://spacenews.com/space-development-agency-a-huge-win-for-griffin-in-his-war-against-the-status-quo/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Freedberg, Sydney (20 August 2018). "Space-Based Missile Defense Can Be Done: DoD R&D. Chief Griffin". https://breakingdefense.com/2018/08/space-based-missile-defense-is-doable-dod-rd-chief-griffin/. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Hypersonic Missile Defense: Issues for Congress". Congressional Research Service. 22 January 2022. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11623. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 "Exclusive: Musk's SpaceX is building spy satellite network for US intelligence agency, sources say". 2024-03-16. https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/musks-spacex-is-building-spy-satellite-network-us-intelligence-agency-sources-2024-03-16. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Porter, Jon (2023-09-28). "SpaceX inks first Space Force deal for government-focused Starshield satellite network" (in en). https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/28/23894239/spacex-starshield-satellite-network-space-force-pentagon-deal. 
  11. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (2023-08-29). "SDA's Transport Layer Beta satellites will have 'direct to weapon' links". https://spacenews.com/space-development-agencys-data-transport-satellites-get-more-complex/. 
  12. ↑ "The Pentagon Is Recruiting Elon Musk To Help Them Win a Nuclear War". 2025-02-11. https://scheerpost.com/2025/02/11/the-pentagon-is-recruiting-elon-musk-to-help-them-win-a-nuclear-war/. 
  13. ↑ "Castelion Scores $100M in Financing". Los Angeles Business Journal. 2025-02-17. https://labusinessjournal.com/technology/castelion-scores-100m-in-financing/. 
  14. ↑ Berger, Eric (2024-04-18). "SpaceX and Northrop are working on a constellation of spy satellites" (in en-us). https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/04/spacex-working-with-northrop-grumman-on-spy-satellites-for-us-government/. 
  15. ↑ "SpaceX reveals 'Starshield' satellite project for national security use". 6 December 2022. https://www.space.com/spacex-starshield-satellite-internet-military-starlink. 
  16. ↑ Joey Roulette, Marisa Taylor (2024-04-18). "Exclusive: Northrop Grumman working with Musk's SpaceX on U.S. spy satellite system". https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/northrop-grumman-working-with-musks-spacex-us-spy-satellite-system-2024-04-18/. 
  17. ↑ Machi, Vivienne (1 June 2021). "US Military Places a Bet on LEO for Space Security". Space Development Agency. https://www.sda.mil/us-military-places-a-bet-on-leo-for-space-security/.  Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  18. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (2 April 2022). "SpaceX launches 10 satellites for U.S. Space Development Agency". https://spacenews.com/spacex-launches-10-satellites-for-u-s-space-development-agency/. 
  19. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (2022-12-09). "Space Development Agency's first launch slips to March due to satellite glitch" (in en-US). https://spacenews.com/space-development-agencys-first-launch-slips-to-march-due-to-satellite-glitch/. 
  20. ↑ "Elon Musk's SpaceX, Once a Washington Outsider, Courts Military Business". The Wall Street Journal. 4 November 2020. https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-once-a-washington-outsider-courts-military-business-11604517046. 
  21. ↑ "NDIA Appoints 16 Members to Board". GovCon Wire. 5 October 2021. https://www.govconwire.com/2021/10/ndia-appoints-16-members-to-board/. 
  22. ↑ "Statement of General Terrence J. O'Shaugnessy before the Senate Armed Services Committee". U.S. Senate. 13 February 2020. https://www.armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/OShaughnessy_02-13-20.pdf. 
  23. ↑ Cirincione, Joe (2025-05-25). "Trump’s “Golden Dome” Won’t Work—but It’ll Make Elon Musk Richer". https://newrepublic.com/article/195608/trump-golden-dome-elon-musk-richer. 
  24. ↑ "Space Development Agency Makes Awards for 126 Satellites to Build Tranche 1 Transport Laye" (in en-US). February 28, 2022. https://www.war.gov/News/Releases/Release/article/2948229/space-development-agency-makes-awards-for-126-satellites-to-build-tranche-1-tra/. 
  25. ↑ "How Elon Musk's satellites have saved Ukraine and changed warfare". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/01/05/how-elon-musks-satellites-have-saved-ukraine-and-changed-warfare. 
  26. ↑ Musk, Elon (December 10, 2024). "Spacex-Starshield". https://www.spacex.com/starshield/. 
  27. ↑ Marx, Paris (February 3, 2023). "Elon Musk Should Not Be In Charge of the Night Sky.". pp. 1–2. https://time.com/6250118/elon-musk-should-not-be-in-charge-of-the-night-sky/. 
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Erwin, Sandra (2023-10-03). "SpaceX providing Starlink services to DoD under 'unique terms and conditions'" (in en-US). https://spacenews.com/spacex-providing-starlink-services-to-dod-under-unique-terms-and-conditions/. 
  29. ↑ "SpaceX wins first Pentagon contract for Starshield". 2023-09-27. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/27/spacex-wins-first-pentagon-contract-for-starshield.html. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Starlink's Starshield wins contract with US Space Force" (in en). 2023-09-27. https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starshield-us-space-force/. 
  31. ↑ "House China committee demands Elon Musk open SpaceX Starshield internet to U.S. troops in Taiwan" (in en). 2024-02-24. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/24/house-china-committee-elon-musk-spacex-starshield-taiwan.html. 
  32. ↑ "SpaceX May Be Withholding Satellite Internet in Taiwan, Congressman Contends" (in en-US). The Wall Street Journal. February 24, 2024. https://www.wsj.com/tech/spacex-may-be-withholding-satellite-internet-in-taiwan-congressman-contends-8b58504c. 
  33. ↑ "SpaceX Refutes Claim It's Withholding Starshield in Taiwan" (in en). Bloomberg.com. 2024-02-26. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-02-26/spacex-refutes-claim-it-s-withholding-starshield-in-taiwan. 
  34. ↑ Erwin, Sandra (2024-06-11). "Pentagon embracing SpaceX's Starshield for future military satcom" (in en-US). https://spacenews.com/pentagon-embracing-spacexs-starshield-for-future-military-satcom/. 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 Brumfiel, Geoff (2025-10-17). "A classified network of SpaceX satellites is emitting a mysterious signal". https://www.npr.org/2025/10/17/nx-s1-5575254/spacex-starshield-starlink-signal. 
  36. ↑ Lentz, Danny (2023-08-31). "SpaceX launches of Space Development Agency's Tranche 0 mission" (in en-US). https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/08/tranche-0-flight-2/. 
  37. ↑ "Tracking Layer Tranche-0 WFOV 1, ..., 4". https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/tracking-layer-tranche-0-wfov-spx.htm. 
  38. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan [@planet4589]. "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).". https://twitter.com/planet4589/status/1772735334331158544.  Missing or empty |date= (help)

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