Kind of related to ITAR,
SpaceX has set up Starshield now as a subsidiary for classified stuff, or I guess a network of satellites for DoD/NSA things.
That article is a little light on details/confused/disjointed I think.
Real-time imaging is a holy grail for surveillance, of course, but I don't think that is particularly realistic in any initial phases.
Quote:
The company has not yet released photos of how the Starshield terminals and satellites will look like. The Starshield satellite could be based on the Starlink satellite bus but with enhanced capabilities referred to by the company as 'Hosted Payloads.' "Starshield builds satellite buses to support the most demanding customer payload missions," says the company. The satellites will be "designed to meet diverse mission requirements, Starshield satellites are capable of integrating a wide variety of payloads, offering unique versatility to users."
Starshield will be compatible with the Starlink constellation to interoperate. "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," states SpaceX.
"Starshield's proliferated low-Earth orbit architecture provides inherent resiliency and constant connectivity to on-orbit assets, while SpaceX's proven rapid launch capability provides expedient and economical access to space."
To date, SpaceX operates approximately 3,200 Starlink satellites in Low Earth Orbit. The Starlink constellation has demonstrated it is capable of reliably providing high-speed internet service globally to over half-a-million customers. The Starlink cyber security team has been able to protect the broadband network against Russian cyber attacks amid the war with Ukraine. Starlink is in-use by the Ukrainian government's military, emergency response teams, and civilians. The network has been a useful communication tool to coordinate civilian safety operations. "SpaceX's ongoing work with the Department of Defense and other partners demonstrates our ability to provide in-space and on-ground capability at scale," says the aerospace company.
So, sort of a piggy back onto the laser inter-connects already in place today, with a dedicated sub-fleet of NSA sats, or possibly from terminals on other satellites they have/will put up (think, updated keyhole stuff). Just a few red flags about privacy but something tells me this will wind up leading to the FCC/State Dept letting SpaceX go ahead with a more complete total license in the future for more shells.