(Mark Garlick / Science Photo Library / Getty Images)
The Russian government is once again threatening to target SpaceX’s Starlink network on a report that the company is building hundreds of spy satellites for the US government.
“We are well aware of Washington efforts to attract the private sector in servicing their military space ambitions,” Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a briefing on Wednesday.
She made the statement after Reuters talked to five unnamed sources who confirmed SpaceX is building the spy satellite network for the US National Reconnaissance Office, a government intelligence agency.
The classified project is part of SpaceX’s Starshield program, which leverages the company’s Starlink technology for national security purposes. According to Reuters, the US awarded a $1.8 billion contract to SpaceX to build the low-Earth orbiting satellites, which will be capable of tracking targets on the ground.
It's unclear when the spy satellites will launch, but the news has already alarmed China. On Wednesday, Reuters also asked Russia’s foreign ministry for comment. In response, Zakharova said US efforts to militarize a commercial satellite network could make the technology “a legitimate target for retaliatory measures, including military ones.”
“We have noted that the US and its allies are increasingly using satellites and ground infrastructure like commercial civil systems like Starlink in order to ensure their intelligence activities and to carry out hostilities,” she added.
It’s not the first time Russia has threatened to attack Starlink. Back in 2022, Kremlin officials said they could “retaliate” against SpaceX’s satellite internet system for supplying broadband to Ukraine, which has been locked in a war with Russia.
Last month, the White House also confirmed that the Kremlin is developing an anti-satellite weapon. Although details about the weapon remain vague, Russia in 2021 launched a missile to take out one of the country’s own defunct satellites. The ensuing impact caused the satellite to blow to pieces, resulting in a debris field that some Starlink satellites had to maneuver around.