Starshield Satellites

Each row is a launch that carried satellites identified as Starshield, newest first. NRO missions carry the satellites of the National Reconnaissance Office's constellation; on shared launches, a few Starshield satellites flew alongside other payloads. The log has 22 launches: 14 NRO missions and 8 shared launches.

Mission names link to each launch's record in our launch database. Counts follow catalogue identifications; the NRO does not say which of its satellites are Starshield-built.

SpaceX describes Starshield as a secured satellite network for government use, built on the technology and launch capability behind Starlink. Where Starlink is designed for consumers and businesses, Starshield serves government customers, with an initial focus on three areas: Earth observation, communications, and hosted payloads, meaning government instruments carried on SpaceX-built satellites.

The satellites add high-assurance encryption on top of Starlink's own, so they can host classified payloads and process data securely. SpaceX also offers Starlink's laser terminal for other satellites, so they can join the Starshield network.

The US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) builds and operates the country's reconnaissance satellites. On 22 May 2024 it began launching what it calls its proliferated architecture, with the NROL-146 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The NRO describes the strategy as numerous, smaller satellites designed for capability and resilience, and calls it a new paradigm for the satellites it puts in orbit. It has flown 14 of these missions so far. Every one has flown on a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Media reports in March 2024 said the satellites are built by SpaceX's Starshield business under a contract signed in 2021 and reported to be worth $1.8 billion. NRO announcements name SpaceX as a partner on each launch but do not describe the satellites themselves. Of the 249 Starshield satellites in the log above, 245 of them belong to the NRO.

Every object launched into orbit gets an entry in the public satellite catalogue, and Starshield satellites are no exception: each has a catalogue number and an official name, most of them in the USA series. What is missing is the orbit. For 239 of the 245 Starshield satellites in orbit, including every satellite from the NRO missions, the orbital elements that tracking sites use to calculate positions are withheld, as for other national security payloads. The other 6 have published orbits and appear in our satellite catalogue like any other satellite.

Without elements there is no live map position and no pass prediction, so this page shows what the public record does support: when each satellite was launched, on which mission, and whether it is still in orbit. Orbital Radar does not estimate or publish positions for satellites whose orbits are withheld.

Starlink figure: satellites in service, from our live catalogue. Starshield figure: satellites identified as Starshield and not known to have re-entered.

1. 2021The NRO signs the contract that media reports in 2024 linked to SpaceX's Starshield business, with a reported value of $1.8 billion.
2. December 2022SpaceX introduces Starshield as its satellite line for government customers.
3. September 2023The US Space Force awards SpaceX a task order worth up to $70 million for Starshield satellite communications services, the first known contract for Starshield by name.
4. 22 May 2024The NRO launches the first mission of its proliferated architecture, NROL-146.
5. Since thenThe constellation grows launch by launch; the log above lists every flight.