A step toward the 'Space Shield'... Successful first tests of the US 'Golden Dome'

- Developer companies move to the next phase to demonstrate their technologies’ capability to operate in space

“Space Force” awarded 12 companies contracts to develop armed satellites to intercept ballistic missiles

The “Golden Dome” project, one of the most prominent missile defense programs championed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, passed its first major test of space-based missile interception technologies, marking an early step toward developing the system, which is estimated to cost around $185 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Companies including SpaceX and Northrop Grumman, along with other firms working on technologies for the project, successfully completed the first phase of testing, enabling them to advance to a new stage focused on demonstrating their systems’ ability to operate in space.

Brigadier General Michael Guetlein of the U.S. Space Force, who oversees the Golden Dome project, told reporters at a conference on Tuesday that all participating companies would move to the next phase of the program.

The initial tests, for at least some of the companies, involved transmitting data from sensors to an interceptor missile, as well as demonstrating the efficiency of spacecraft propulsion systems.

In April, the Space Force announced it had awarded contracts to 12 companies, including RTX, Anduril Industries, and Lockheed Martin, to develop armed satellites capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

The U.S. administration has allocated $3.2 billion for these efforts, with the possibility of future contracts worth tens of billions of dollars.

The program is one of the most ambitious space-based missile defense projects since the Strategic Defense Initiative launched by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the Cold War, which was later canceled due to high costs, technical challenges, and weak political support.

Pentagon officials established a competitive prize system, under which teams compete for funding by passing each defined milestone on the path to developing a final prototype.

These stages include ground testing, two space flight tests, and a demonstration of the technology’s ability to execute an interception operation, according to Bloomberg.

Notably, SpaceX also won a contract worth more than $4 billion to build satellites for tracking foreign aircraft and missiles, as part of the Golden Dome defense project launched by U.S. President Donald Trump.