2 billion dollars to start, and undoubtedly several hundred billion upon arrival: the “Golden Dome” project promises to be as ambitious as it is ruinous. In Donald Trump’s mind, this space system must detect and destroy enemy missiles before they reach Earth – especially the United States. On paper, it is a gigantic network of satellites – around 600 according to plans – capable of tracking planes, missiles and ground vehicles. In practice, no one yet knows how all this would work.
A space shield at a high Price
The contract, passed without firing a shot in the last budget law signed in July, should benefit SpaceX which will receive an initial envelope of 2 billion dollars to lay the foundations of this very ambitious constellation, according to the Wall Street Journal. Elon Musk’s company is already omnipresent in the American space sector, with its Falcon rockets and its Starlink network which has more than 10,000 satellites in orbit.
The Pentagon remains mysterious about the details, simply citing a “ complex system “. And Trump is not afraid to promise the moon: he wants the shield to be operational before the end of his mandate, even if it means destroying the budget. Some elected officials are also concerned about this proximity. Republican Senator Rick Scott warned against any “ monopoly situation » : « I don’t want us to choose a single actor and lock ourselves into a single path “, he said. At the Ministry of Defense, there is a fear of “vendor lock”, in other words complete dependence on a single supplier, in this case SpaceX.
Past tensions between Trump and Musk have not helped matters. The boss of SpaceX had threatened to suspend the Crew Dragon spacecraft which transports NASA astronauts, before backing down. Enough to cool certain military officials, aware that a simple tweet can, literally, put space on pause.
Trump presents the “Golden Dome” as the new frontier of American defense. In reality, few experts believe that such a system could be operational within the announced time frame. Even defense giants like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman view the project with caution. The program, supposed to cost “only” $175 billion according to the White House, could in reality swallow up much more. And if the stated objective is to protect the United States, it could above all serve to strengthen the economic interests of a small circle of privileged people… starting with Elon Musk.
The president of SpaceX, Gwynne Shotwell, summed it up bluntly: “ The government will get what it needs, as always. » Will American taxpayers get anything other than an astronomical bill for this shield?
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