RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT WARNS US AGAINST USING ELON MUSK’S SPACEX FOR SPYING

“We are aware of Washington’s efforts to attract the private sector to serve its military space ambitions,” Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters on Wednesday.

Such systems “become a legitimate target for retaliatory measures, including military ones”, Zakharova said.

The network is being built by SpaceX’s Starshield business unit under a $1.8bn contract signed in 2021 with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), an intelligence agency that manages spy satellites, five sources familiar with the programme said, according to Reuters.

The vast, low-Earth orbiting satellite systems are aimed at supporting ground forces. If successful, the sources said the programme would significantly advance the ability of the US government and military to quickly spot potential targets almost anywhere on the globe.

Zakharova also addressed a Russian draft resolution in the UN General Assembly titled, “Space science and technology for promoting peace,” the Russian news outlet Sputnik reported.

Zakharova said the document is aimed at establishing an understanding at the international level about the inadmissibility of using civilian space systems to exert force on geopolitical opponents.

Last month, the White House said Russia is developing a “space-based” anti-satellite weapon that is “troubling” but poses no threat.

Moscow downplayed the US claims, describing them as a “malicious fabrication”.