Trump drops Elon Musk’s SpaceX from the Golden Dome project

Trump has officially iced out Elon Musk’s SpaceX from the heart of his $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense project and is now pulling in Jeff Bezos’ Amazon instead.

The decision comes directly from the White House after Trump and Elon’s relationship collapsed publicly on June 5.

Before that fallout, Pentagon officials were already getting nervous about letting Elon control too much of the nation’s military communications network.

Now, the administration is doing what it rarely does, opening the doors to other players, including traditional defense firms and Amazon’s space division, Project Kuiper.

According to reporting from Reuters, the Pentagon began reaching out to Amazon and other defense tech companies as tensions with Elon deepened. Elon claimed on X that SpaceX hadn’t bid on any contracts for Golden Dome and that the company’s focus “would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars.”

But despite the statement, SpaceX is still expected to handle some of the program’s launch operations because of its dominant rocket capabilities and deep experience with government contracts.

Pentagon contacts Amazon, startups, and old-school defense firms

Project Kuiper has only deployed 78 of its planned 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites so far, but that didn’t stop the Pentagon from making contact. In January, Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s executive chairman, told Reuters, “There will be defense uses for these [low-earth orbit] constellations, no doubt,” even though he originally pitched Kuiper as a commercial play.

Officials say Kuiper is being strongly considered to supply the satellite layers for Golden Dome — a system modeled after Israel’s Iron Dome, but built for broader coverage across U.S. territory and beyond. Trump’s administration wants multiple vendors in play.

“Each individual launch is going to get bid, and we have to actually give bids to other people,” one official told Reuters. That includes new contenders like Rocket Lab and Stoke Space, who now have the chance to compete on the same playing field as SpaceX.

While the new wave of interest focuses on startups and tech companies, traditional contractors haven’t been left behind. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and L3Harris are all in conversations to support Golden Dome.

Kenneth Bedingfield, L3Harris’ CFO, told Reuters the company has seen increased demand for its missile tracking systems. Northrop’s space division leader, Robert Fleming, said the company is developing a space-based interceptor that could strike threats directly from orbit.

Robert Lightfoot, president of Lockheed Martin Space, said the company was “ready to support Golden Dome for America as a proven mission partner.”

Congress has backed the project with a huge budget increase. Space Force’s funding to buy satellite communication services jumped from $900 million to $13 billion last year. That’s part of a bigger strategy to get the private sector involved in national defense. Trump’s tax-and-spend bill released the first $25 billion chunk of funding earlier this year, making Kuiper and others even more relevant.

Elon’s allies sidelined as Trump accelerates timeline

Several firms close to Trump, like Palantir and Anduril, were originally seen as top contenders for major Golden Dome contracts, alongside SpaceX. But the public feud between Trump and Elon has changed the playing field. Elon has since launched a new political group called the “America Party,” aimed at pushing back against Republicans who supported Trump’s spending plans.

Despite the political tension, the work continues at full speed. General Michael Guetlein, confirmed by the Senate on July 17, is now leading the Golden Dome effort. Under orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Guetlein has 30 days to build his team, 60 days to draft the system’s early design, and 120 days to deliver a full blueprint for satellites and ground infrastructure.

While SpaceX’s tech is still unmatched in certain areas, there are growing concerns around cybersecurity. If Kuiper is going to handle defense communications, its satellites need protection from digital threats and jamming. SpaceX has already dealt with this. In May 2024, Elon said the company was “spending significant resources combating Russian jamming efforts.”

Global implications are also on the table. A functioning space-based missile defense network could pressure adversaries to respond with new tech or even escalate their space militarization programs. And even though smaller companies are getting calls, the big players aren’t out of the race.

Executives from RTX, which used to be Raytheon, said on Tuesday they expect their Patriot missile system to play a “significant” role in Golden Dome, especially “if you want to make a significant impact over the next 2 to 3 years.”

Cryptopolitan Academy: Tired of market swings? Learn how DeFi can help you build steady passive income. Register Now