Was Reagan revealing the existence of a highly classified space program that could accommodate hundreds of astronauts in orbit?

Apparently so, according to dozens of military and corporate whistleblowers.

Hidden within one of the nine unified combatant commands of the U.S. military, as McKinnon later discovered, appeared to be a highly classified fleet of aircraft carrier sized ships that operate in outer space.

https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_flyingobjects142.htm