Golden Dome is expanding its roster: the Trump team is now reaching out to Amazon’s Project Kuiper and big defense firms like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris for satellite and launch partners.
Could the Golden Dome mission move beyond SpaceX?
This shift comes amid tensions between Trump and Elon Musk that have put SpaceX’s dominance in the program on shaky ground. Despite SpaceX launching over 9,000 Starlink satellites, and remaining a top player for launch contracts, officials want multiple bidders for each mission to avoid over-reliance.
The Golden Dome system, inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome but on a much larger scale with ground and space layers, will cost an estimated $175 billion. Leadership is already set with Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein recently confirmed, alongside a $13 billion initial Senate allocation.
Concerns around cybersecurity have grown, especially if commercial satellites like Kuiper are added to the mix, military-grade hardening will be essential.
