SpaceX Mask has become a major US defense contractor – Kommersant

Businessman Elon Musk’s SpaceX is “deepening its ties with US intelligence and military agencies,” writes The Wall Street Journal (WSJ). According to the publication, SpaceX has won at least one major secret contract. The company is also expanding its Starshield satellite program for national security clients.

As the WSJ reports, citing documents, in 2021, SpaceX entered into a secret contract with the US government for $1.8 billion. The name of the government customer and other details are not disclosed. The company expects funds from this contract “to become an important part of its revenues in the coming years.”

In addition, SpaceX has a special unit called Starshield, “created specifically for government customers,” whose leaders include former US Air Force General Terrence O’Shaughnessy, who retired in 2020. In August 2023, Starshield won a $70 million contract to provide communications services to dozens of Pentagon partners. “When I’m not sure what I can say in a public forum, I prefer to remain silent. But I can say that there is very good cooperation between the intelligence community and SpaceX,” said company president Gwyn Shotwell at an event last May.

SpaceX’s website says Starshield is a provider of satellites capable of providing secure communications, collecting data about the Earth or providing other surveillance tools for governments while in orbit. In its job postings, Starshield sought people “with top-secret security clearances, as well as experience working with the Pentagon and the intelligence community,” the WSJ claims. A SpaceX representative did not comment on this information.

In February became known, that the US Department of Defense is considering the possibility of using the heavy Starship launch vehicle, developed by SpaceX, for the urgent transfer of military cargo on Earth. Starship is a super-heavy, reusable, two-stage launch vehicle designed to deliver people and cargo to low-Earth orbit, the Moon and Mars. Currently, SpaceX only has one Starship launch site in Texas.

About the test launch of the rocket – in the material “Kommersant FM” “Starship is poised for success”.

Laura Keffer