What Happened
Unprecedented Deal Sparks Industry Concern Over Market Disruption
In an unprecedented move, the Defense Department has agreed to give SpaceX exclusive access to the government’s most classified space tracking data, according to a dozen government and industry sources. The deal involves a contractual agreement between SpaceX and the Space Force’s Joint Commercial Operations Cell, trading company data from its Stargaze star-tracking cameras for access to US Space Command’s High Accuracy Catalog. The arrangement has sparked concern in the US space tracking industry over potential market disruption, with some sources worrying that SpaceX’s access to classified data could give it an unfair advantage. The deal was first reported by Breaking Defense.