The Pentagon has awarded SpaceX a $4.16bn contract to build a constellation of missile-tracking satellites for President 
Donald Trump's planned "Golden Dome" defence system. The US Space Force said the sensor-equipped satellites would let it detect and track targets from space, in an award first reported by Bloomberg, the Verge reported.
What will SpaceX build? The satellites are designed to spot and track incoming missiles and other airborne targets and feed data to interceptors that would try to shoot them down. 
Elon Musk's company already holds contracts to develop other parts of the Golden Dome, including prototypes for space-based interceptors and a separate $2.29bn deal to build the system's data network, the Verge reported. The award is among the larger pieces of the program announced so far.
How big is SpaceX's government role? The federal government is already the company's largest customer through NASA and military launch work, and the new award tightens that relationship further. SpaceX recently filed for what could be the largest initial public offering ever, even as its government work continues to expand, the Verge reported.
What are the doubts? Modelled loosely on Israel's Iron Dome, the Golden Dome would aim to identify and destroy missiles and other airborne threats in flight, a goal critics question on both cost and technical feasibility. Trump ordered the system shortly after returning to office, and the Pentagon has been signing contractors to build it out in stages. The contract nonetheless binds SpaceX more tightly to one of Trump's marquee defence priorities.
Figures referenced: Elon Musk, Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
