National Reconnaissance Office

New Capabilities

Owner and operator of the constellation

For decades, U.S. spy satellites were a handful of expensive giants, each roughly the size of a bus and worth billions. The National Reconnaissance Office is swapping that model for a swarm of small, mass-produced spacecraft.

Updated Jun 19

Built World

Buyer of reconnaissance satellites

On June 7, a Falcon 9 rose from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying 23 satellites. Two were Starshield, the military version of Starlink. SpaceX said so out loud, which it rarely does.

Updated Jun 7