US Golden Dome Missile: Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has said that his company is not working on any missile defense system called Golden Dome for the US. He shared this message after a news report from Reuters said SpaceX could play a big role in building this new defense project. The report claimed SpaceX and two other companies were leading the race to help make this system, which former President Donald Trump is said to support as part of his national security plans.
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Musk made a post on X, the social media platform once called Twitter, to clear things up.
SpaceX has not tried to bid for any contract in this regard.
Our strong preference would be to stay focused on taking humanity to Mars.
If the President asks us to help in this regard, we will do so, but I hope that other companies (not SpaceX) can do this.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2025
What the Golden Dome System Is Supposed to Do?
The Golden Dome missile shield would work by stopping enemy missiles before they hit. The plan looks similar to Israel’s Iron Dome, which protects cities from short-range rockets. The idea for Golden Dome includes launching many satellites into space anywhere from 400 to over 1,000.
These satellites would watch the sky all the time to find and track any missile launches. The project would also include another group of about 200 satellites that could fight back using missiles or even lasers to stop incoming threats, reported TOI.
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Sources told Reuters that the companies involved offered this plan to the government. One part of the offer says the government wouldn’t need to buy everything up front. Instead, SpaceX may keep ownership of the system and let the government use it by paying a subscription fee. This means the government would not fully own the system but could access it when needed.
Right now SpaceX has not officially joined the project. Musk made it clear that they have not submitted any bids to work on it. But he also left the door open just a little, saying that if President Trump asks for help, SpaceX might step in. Until then, the company plans to stay focused on space travel and reaching Mars.
The Golden Dome system is still in early planning, and it’s not clear yet which companies will build it. But it’s meant to protect the US from long-range missiles and could become a big part of the country’s defense plan in the future.
