Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly chomping at the bit to build Trump’s $175 billion “Golden Dome” defense system, designed to protect the U.S. from foreign missiles “even if they are launched from the other side of the world.”
Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled the first details of the project during an Oval Office briefing on Tuesday, claiming that it can be completed in three years at the cost $175 billion. Both the budget and timeline conflict with a Congressional Budget Office assessment, which estimates that the project could take 20 years and cost $524 billion.
This unusually large and complex space shield would consist of a vast network of satellites capable of detecting, tracking, and intercepting incoming missiles, in addition to a smaller fleet of offensive satellites, Reuters reports.
The GOP-led budget reconciliation bill, which is progressing to the House for consideration, includes $25 billion to jumpstart the Golden Dome project, according to The Hill. Leaders in aerospace tech are already clamoring to get their hands on a contract, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and—of course—SpaceX.
In April, sources told Reuters that Musk’s satellite and spaceflight company made a bid to build key parts of the Golden Dome in partnership with two other U.S.-based companies: software firm Palantir and drone manufacturer Anduril.
Around that time, these companies pitched their plan to the Trump administration and the Pentagon, which would involve launching potentially more than 1,000 new defense satellites for sensing and tracking missiles, in addition to a separate fleet of 200 attack satellites armed with missiles or lasers, according to Reuters.
In a letter sent to Defense Department inspector general Steven Stebbins on May 1, a group of 42 Democratic lawmakers requested a review of the Pentagon’s procurement process for the Golden Dome project, citing conflict of interest concerns over this potential deal with Musk.
“All of this raises concerns about whether defense contracts to build a Golden Dome are an effective way to protect Americans or are meant to enrich Mr. Musk and other elites,” they wrote.
In addition to generating substantial new revenue for SpaceX and boosting the company’s valuation, a Golden Dome contract could give Musk “unacceptable ongoing leverage” over U.S. national security, the lawmakers warned.
The group pointed to SpaceX’s proposal to run this defense system via a “subscription service.” This could allow the company to bypass the Pentagon’s procurement rules and exercise unchecked control over the cost and development of the Golden Dome, The Hill reported.
“Mr. Musk could, as he allegedly did in Ukraine, determine when to provide the U.S. government with access to Golden Dome satellite systems,” the lawmakers wrote.
Gizmodo reached out to SpaceX for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
Since donating more than $250 million to Trump’s election campaign, Musk has become part of the furniture of his administration, serving as a special government employee, senior advisor to the president, and a key official at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
It’s worth noting that his Golden Dome bidding partners, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey, are also longtime supporters of Trump.
It’s hardly the first time Musk’s ties to the president have raised concerns. In April, a report from Senate Democrats estimated that he and his companies face at least $2.37 billion in legal exposure due to the many conflicts of interest he has acquired through his work with DOGE.
Despite this, it’s reasonable to believe that the Pentagon could select SpaceX to lead construction on the Golden Dome. Defense officials may feel that Musk’s company is well-positioned to tackle this project for several reasons.
For one, SpaceX has launched hundreds of spy satellites over the last five years, and sources told Reuters that several recently launched prototypes could be retrofitted for the project. The company also has experience building satellite constellations through Starlink—a network made up of more than 11,000 satellites.
What’s more, SpaceX’s fleet of reusable rockets could help ensure that the Golden Dome project stays within the tight budget and timing constraints the Trump administration has set for it, though that will still be a herculean task.
If SpaceX is not chosen for this task, it’s not immediately clear which launch provider could do the heavy lifting. United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur and Blue Origin’s New Glenn are both possible contenders, but these heavy-lift vehicles have yet to prove themselves.
Depending on the size and weight of the Golden Dome satellites, other U.S. launch providers could conceivably help, including Firefly Aerospace. In February, Firefly signed a $21.8 million contract with the Pentagon to launch a mission under the military’s quick-reaction space program, which aims to demonstrate the Space Force’s ability to rapidly deploy satellites in an emergency.
Even with SpaceX’s advantages, it’s not clear whether it—or any leading tech company for that matter—could actually pull this project off. No country has ever launched a space-based defense system of this scale before, and it’s difficult to predict the amount of time and money it will take to build and deploy this technology.
There are geopolitical tensions to consider as well. Today, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged the U.S. to abandon the project, stating that Golden Dome will “heighten the risk of turning space into a war zone and creating a space arms race and shake the international security and arms control system,” ABC News reports.
Whether the Pentagon and its future Golden Dome contractors can overcome these hurdles remains to be seen. If SpaceX gets in on the action, it could open up a whole new world of technological, ethical, and legal challenges for Musk.
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