Elon Musk's SpaceX and two partners are expected to win the bid for a key part of U.S. President Donald Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense system, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. Sources said Musk's rocket and satellite company is working with software maker Palantir and drone maker Anduril to bid to build key parts of the "Golden Dome", a project that has attracted significant interest from the technology industry's burgeoning defense startups.
In the executive order signed on January 27, Trump called the missile attack "the most catastrophic threat facing the United States."
The founders of all three companies are major political supporters of Trump. Musk has donated more than $250 million to help elect Trump and is now a special adviser to the Trump administration, working to cut government spending through what he calls the "Government Efficiency Department."
Although the Pentagon sent a positive signal to the SpaceX-led consortium, some sources emphasized that the decision-making process for Trump's "Golden Dome" plan is still in the early stages. Its final structure and selected project participants are likely to change dramatically in the coming months.
The three companies have met with senior Trump administration and Pentagon officials in recent weeks to lay out their plan to build and launch between 400 and more than 1,000 satellites that would orbit the globe to detect missiles and track their movements, sources said.
Three of the sources said a separate fleet of 200 attack satellites equipped with missiles or lasers would shoot down enemy missiles. The SpaceX consortium is not expected to be involved in weaponizing the satellites, these sources said.
A source familiar with the negotiations said the talks "deviated from the usual acquisition process. Because of Musk's role in government, the national security and defense community has to treat him with sensitivity and respect."
If a SpaceX-led team wins the Golden Dome contract, it would be Silicon Valley's biggest win in the lucrative defense contracting industry and a blow to traditional contractors.
However, long-term contractors such as Northrop Grumman, Boeing and RTX are also expected to play an important role in the process, people familiar with the companies said. As part of its marketing efforts, Lockheed Martin created a dedicated web page.
SpaceX is pursuing what is known as the "custody layer" of the Golden Dome program, a constellation of satellites that can detect missiles, track their trajectory and determine whether they are heading in the direction of the United States, according to two sources familiar with SpaceX's goals.
Two sources said SpaceX estimates that preliminary engineering and design work on the satellite's "hosting layer" will cost $6 billion to $10 billion. Over the past five years, SpaceX has launched hundreds of operational spy satellites and more recently several prototype satellites that could be modified for use in the program, sources said.
According to an internal memo sent by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to top U.S. Defense Department officials shortly before the February 28 deadline, he asked them to come up with preliminary "Golden Dome" proposals and called for "accelerated deployment" of the satellite constellation.
People familiar with the plan said that time frame could give SpaceX an advantage because it has a fleet of rockets, including the Falcon 9, as well as existing satellites that it can repurpose for missile defense systems.