On July 22, Reuters reported that the Trump administration is expanding its search for partners to build the "Golden Dome" missile defense system and is actively approaching Amazon's satellite project "Project Kuiper" and large defense contractors, according to three people familiar with the matter. The reason is that Trump's tense relationship with Elon Musk threatens SpaceX's dominance in the system.
Trump
This shift marks the Trump administration's strategic move away from reliance on Musk's SpaceX. The company's Starlink and StarShield satellite networks have become an important part of U.S. military communications.
The adjustment comes as relations between Trump and Musk have deteriorated, with the once-close partners publicly split on June 5. Even before the dispute, Pentagon and White House officials had begun looking for alternatives to SpaceX because of concerns about being too reliant on a single partner in the ambitious, $175 billion space defense system, two people familiar with the matter said.
After Reuters reported that SpaceX was the frontrunner to bid for part of the Golden Dome system, Musk said on X that SpaceX "is not trying to bid for any contracts in this regard. Our top priority will be to focus on sending humans to Mars."
People familiar with the matter said that given SpaceX's scale, its record of launching more than 9,000 Starlink satellites and its experience in government procurement, SpaceX still has an advantage in helping to build the main parts of the "Golden Dome" system, especially the launch contract.
Amazon opportunity
Amazon’s “Kuiper Project” plans to launch 3,000 low-Earth orbit satellites, but only 78 have been launched so far. The Pentagon has approached Amazon to join the construction of the Golden Dome system. This shows that the US government is willing to integrate commercial technology companies into the national defense infrastructure and is not limited to traditional defense enterprises.
Amazon Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos told Reuters in January that Project Kuiper was primarily for commercial purposes, but acknowledged that "there will undoubtedly be defense uses for these low-Earth orbit satellite constellations."
"Golden Dome" is similar to Israel's missile defense system "Iron Dome", but it is a larger and more complex multi-layered defense system that requires a huge network of orbiting satellites covering a wider area.
A U.S. official said that "Kuiper is an important option" in the search for suppliers of the "Golden Dome" satellite layer.
Although SpaceX remains the front-runner to bid for the Golden Dome system due to its unrivaled launch capabilities, its share of the project may shrink, two people familiar with the matter said.
The U.S. official mentioned above said that U.S. government officials have contacted new players, such as rocket companies Stoke Space and Rocket Lab. These companies are gaining market acceptance and will be eligible to bid for single launch missions as their projects mature.
The official said that in the later development stages of Golden Dome, "every launch mission will be competitively bid, and we must open the bidding opportunity to other companies besides SpaceX."
As of press time, the White House, Musk and SpaceX did not respond to requests for comment. Spokespersons for the Pentagon and Amazon's "Project Kuiper" declined to comment.