“We’ve changed our procurement methods to take advantage of #LEO technologies,” Troy Meink, #NRO's principal deputy director, said in a speech at the Satellite 2024 conference on Monday, according to SpaceNews.
"Our main priority is to meet the requirements with minimum risk.
When the new constellation, or at least an initial segment thereof, might begin #collecting #intelligence operationally, if it hasn't already, isn't clear.
#SpaceX has been launching relevant prototype satellites since 2020, before its formal contract with NRO,
and "a U.S. government database of objects in orbit shows several SpaceX missions having deployed satellites that neither the company nor the government have ever acknowledged," per Reuters.
In the context of the Reuters report about its work for the NRO, SpaceX's Starshield website does currently list "Earth Observation" as one of its three main focus areas.
The other two are "Communications" and "Hosted Payloads."
"Starlink already offers unparalleled end-to-end user data #encryption.
Starshield uses additional high-assurance cryptographic capability to host classified payloads and process data securely, meeting the most demanding government requirements," according to the Starshield site.
"Starlink's inter-satellite #laser #communications terminal, which is the only communications laser operating at scale in orbit today, can be integrated onto partner satellites to enable incorporation into the Starshield network."
Laser-based communications systems are capable of sending large amounts of information quickly and are also highly secure and resistant to electronic warfare jamming
#Starshield