Elon Musk’s company SpaceX is taking a significant step in Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield project

Elon Musk’s SpaceX, teamed up with Palantir and Anduril, is a top contender to build a key part of President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” missile defense shield, a space-based system designed to counter ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missile threats, as outlined in a January 2025 executive order.

The project, projected to cost hundreds of billions, involves a network of 400–1,000 detection satellites and 200 attack satellites, with SpaceX’s proposed “custody layer” for missile tracking valued at $6–10 billion.

Using its Falcon 9 rockets and Starlink/Starshield infrastructure, SpaceX has pitched a novel subscription-based model, letting the government access the tech rather than own it, though Reuters reported on April 15, 2025, that this has raised Pentagon concerns about reliability and control.

Despite Musk’s April 17, 2025, X post claiming SpaceX hasn’t bid for the contract, sources like The Washington Examiner confirm active talks with Pentagon officials, with a decision deadline of February 28, 2025.

Critics, including Martina Navratilova, have accused Musk of chasing government cash, while his advisory role in Trump’s administration and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) sparks conflict-of-interest worries due to his access to sensitive data, as Reuters noted.

The project’s feasibility is also under fire, with a recent study calling it “scientifically impossible” and pointing to potential trillion-dollar costs, drawing comparisons to Reagan’s unrealized Strategic Defense Initiative.

Over 180 companies, including Lockheed Martin and Boeing, are competing for the contract, highlighting the project’s weight amid rising geopolitical tensions, especially China’s 2021 hypersonic missile test, as covered by NBC News.