In 2012 the military donated Hubble grade telescopes to NASA because they were obsolete

For the purposes of recon. The US owns several Hubble+ telescopes and they are pointing down, not into space.

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The 2012 National Reconnaissance Office space telescope donation to NASA was the declassification and donation to NASA of two identical space telescopes by the United States National Reconnaissance Office. The donation has been described by scientists as a substantial improvement over NASA's current Hubble Space Telescope. Although the telescopes themselves are being given to NASA at no cost, the space agency must still pay for the cost of instruments and electronics for the telescopes, as well as the launch of the telescopes. On February 17, 2016, the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) was formally designated as a mission by NASA, predicated on using one of the space telescopes.[1]

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