Exclusive-After Trump feud, role of Musk's SpaceX in Golden Dome missile shield in question
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The role of Elon Musk's SpaceX in an ambitious new U.S. missile defense system is in question following the dramatic feud last week between the billionaire entrepreneur and President Donald Trump, according to three people familiar with the project.
The White House until recently had considered a plan for SpaceX, Musk's rocket and satellite venture, to partner with software maker Palantir and drone builder Anduril to construct crucial elements of the project, dubbed "Golden Dome." The administration had instructed the Pentagon to prioritize a network of satellites for the purpose, these people said.
But a new framework for the system, which would seek to track and prevent possible missile attacks against the United States, is now being considered that could reduce the role of SpaceX. One possibility, the three people said, could initially forego SpaceX's satellite capabilities and focus on the expansion of existing ground systems for missile defense instead.
In a statement, a White House spokesman said "the Trump Administration is committed to a rigorous review process for all bids and contracts." A senior Defense Department official said the Pentagon "has no announcements regarding future contracts associated with the Golden Dome effort."
SpaceX, Anduril and Palantir didn't respond to requests for comment.
A reduced role for SpaceX would represent the first known setback to Musk's huge volume of business with the U.S. government since his break with Trump last week. The shift in plans, especially for a project that Trump has touted as paramount for U.S. defense strategy, also underscores the highly personalized nature of the president's leadership, aerospace and defense experts said.
"That people guiding the program or building it are approved based on their political affiliation signals a real concern that the project itself is very politicized and not being conducted on the technical merits," said Laura Grego, a missile defense expert and research director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-profit based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
In its statement to Reuters, the White House said any decision would be made "prioritizing the best deal for America and leveraging the most advanced and innovative technology."
Trump in May said the defense shield should be operational by the end of his presidency, January 2029. But industry experts have said that timeframe, and a projected cost of some $175 billion, could be too optimistic.
The change in the proposed "architecture" of the system, the three people said, could have the political advantage of allowing the current administration to deliver at least a portion of it. It isn't clear how soon a final decision on the project could come or whether the ultimate role of any company, including SpaceX, has been determined.
Trump's efforts to roll out the project fast have led to uncertainty about the project's details and a scramble by contractors to be involved, industry experts and some of those involved in its development told Reuters. "To this day, no one knows what the requirements are," said one of the people familiar with the process. "There isn't a coordinated effort with a true vision. All of these companies are just grabbing at this pot of money."
SpaceX, Anduril and Palantir were all founded by entrepreneurs who have been major political supporters of Trump. The three companies had previously met with top administration officials and decisionmakers from the Defense Department to discuss Golden Dome, according to people familiar with those discussions.
Before his high-profile falling out with the president, Musk served as a key Trump advisor and donated more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help elect him. But the recent dispute, which included Musk calling for Trump's impeachment and accusing the president of improper involvement with disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, triggered the change in direction, the three people told Reuters.
"Because of the blowup, the Pentagon has been given the space to look at other alternatives," one of the people said.
In recent days, Musk has sought to temper the dispute, saying he regretted some of his comments and taking down some of his social media criticism of Trump, including the call for impeachment. Earlier this week, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump appreciated Musk's apology and that she was unaware of any administration efforts to review Musk contracts because of the dispute.
Reuters couldn't determine whether Musk's conciliatory overtures might improve SpaceX's chances of winning Golden Dome contracts or securing further new business with the U.S. government.
SpaceX had pitched for a part of the Golden Dome initiative called the "custody layer," a constellation of between 400 and 1,000 satellites that would detect missiles, track their trajectory, and determine if they are heading toward the U.S., Reuters reported in April. In a January 27 executive order, Trump mandated the selection of a proposed "architecture" for Golden Dome and an implementation plan by the end of March.
The order called a missile attack "the most catastrophic threat facing the United States."
(Additional reporting by Mike Stone and Idrees Ali. Editing by Chris Sanders and Paulo Prada.)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
3 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Netanyahu battling to swing Trump and US behind Iran war
SINCE launching air strikes on Iran last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been working to pull President Donald Trump into the war, and sway a sceptical American public. In his daily calls and public statements, Israel's longest-serving prime minister has mixed praise and deference for the US leader, while also arguing that the strikes on Iran benefit Americans. "Do you want these people to have nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them to you?" he asked during an interview on Fox News last Sunday. "Today, it's Tel Aviv. Tomorrow, it's New York," he told ABC News a day later, arguing that Iran was working on longer-range missiles that would be able to reach US shores in the future. His media blitz came after intensive and not always harmonious exchanges between Netanyahu and Trump this year, with the Israeli leader welcomed twice to the White House since the Republican's return to power in January. The New York Times, citing unnamed US administration sources, reported on Tuesday that Netanyahu had in an April meeting asked Trump for US-made bunker-busting bombs capable of reaching Iran's underground Iranian nuclear facilities — but had been refused. Having been elected in opposition to US entanglements overseas and supposed "war-mongers" in the Democratic party, Trump was seen as reluctant to commit Washington to another unpopular war in the Middle East. Much of his right-wing Make America Great Again (MAGA) coalition is staunchly anti-interventionist, including Vice-President J.D. Vance, his head of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and influential media figures such as Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson. But speaking on Wednesday, the president stated that he was considering joining the Israeli campaign directly, raising the possibility of the bunker-busting GBU-57 bombs being deployed against Iran's main underground uranium stockpile facility in Fordo. "I may do it, I may not do it," Trump said at the White House when asked if he had decided on US air strikes. His final decision will come "within the next two weeks", he said on Thursday. Yossi Mekelberg, a Middle East expert at the London-based Chatham House think-tank, said Netanyahu had been clever in his dealings with Trump, appealing to his "vanity" with charm as well "using his weaknesses". Once he had received an "amber light" in private from the US leader to launch the attacks last Friday, "he knew Trump's personality and knew that Trump might come on board if there was a chance of claiming glory in some way or claiming some sort of credit", he told AFP. Trump has praised the success of the Israeli military campaign, which has combined targeted assassinations of key military personnel, destruction of Iran's air defences and repeated strikes on nuclear sites. Eliot A. Cohen, a veteran former US State Department adviser and international relations expert at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, cautioned against overstating Netanyahu's personal influence, however. "I suspect this is much less about Netanyahu's influence than Trump's own view of the Iranian nuclear programme, his memory of the assassination plot against him in 2024 by Iranian agents, and the success of the initial Israeli operations," he said. An Iranian man has been charged in connection with an alleged plot to kill Trump before his election last November. Cohen said Netanyahu's lobbying could succeed for several reasons. "They are not asking for anything other than the bombing of Fordo," he said, referring to the deeply buried underground uranium enrichment facility. "Nobody is talking about an invasion or anything like that." A poll by the survey group YouGov for The Economist magazine conducted last weekend found half of Americans viewed Iran as an "enemy" and another quarter said it was "unfriendly". But it found that only 16 per cent of Americans "think the US military should get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran". It found that majorities of Democrats (65 per cent), independents (61 per cent) and Republicans (53 per cent) opposed military intervention. Speaking on his War Room podcast on Wednesday, former Trump strategist Bannon seethed that Netanyahu had "lectured" America and started a war he couldn't end on his own. "Quit coming to us to finish it," he said.
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
UPDATE -- Thai PM will not resign or dissolve parliament, ruling party official says
Activists have scheduled a protest in Bangkok on June 28 to ask for Paetongtarn Shinawatra's resignation. -- PHOTO: REUTERS BANGKOK (Reuters): Thailand's embattled prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra will not resign or dissolve parliament, a senior official from the ruling Pheu Thai party said on Saturday, risking a prolonged political crisis in South-Est Asia's second largest economy. Sorawong Thienthong, who also serves as Thailand's tourism minister, said in a Facebook post that the prime minister would not quit, despite growing calls for her resignation after her apparent mishandling of a border dispute with neighbouring Cambodia. "The prime minister has clearly confirmed to us that she will continue to perform her duty to resolve various crises that the country is facing to the best of her ability," he said. "The government confirms that it will continue to work, not resign, and not dissolve parliament." Paetongtarn, daughter of divisive tycoon and former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, is facing domestic anger over the leak of a phone call between her and Cambodia's influential former leader Hun Sen, in which she appeared to kowtow before the veteran politician and denigrated a senior Thai military commander. The Bhumjaithai Party, which was the second-biggest partner in Thailand's ruling coalition, withdrew from the alliance late on Wednesday, citing the leak earlier that day. Another coalition member, the United Thai Nation party, looked set to demand Paetongtarn's resignation in return for backing the Pheu Thai-led ruling coalition and securing its narrow parliamentary majority. Paetongtarn has apologised for the call with Hun Sen, but not commented on the crisis so far. Activists have also scheduled a protest in Bangkok starting on June 28 to ask for Paetongtarn's resignation, among them groups with a history of influential rallies against Shinawatra administrations. (Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat and Orathai Sriring; Writing by Devjyot Ghoshal; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mark Potter) - Reuters
The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Belarus opposition leader Tsikhanouski freed from jail, his wife says
FILE PHOTO: Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya holds an image of her husband Syarhei Tsikhanouski, who is jailed in Belarus, as she attends the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
