Golden Dome — U.S. President Trump's quest for a layered missile defense shield for America.
Golden Dome is, in large measure, a replay of President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars") plan announced in 1983.
But fast forward to now. Given micro-miniaturization advancements, communications, processing capabilities, low-cost launch and other factors, the 2025 model, like its predecessor, includes space-based assets to defend the homeland from current bad-day scenarios.
"The Strategic Defense Initiative and Golden Dome are the same in that they revolve around space-based weapons," observes Durham University's Bowen. His view is that the Golden Dome system cannot work as a nuclear missile shield. "That's a non-starter, but as a space-based interceptor or counterspace system against satellites, yes, there's a lot of potential there," he said.
That doesn't mean it's the right policy choice, said Bowen, "but it's technically feasible."
US President Trump presents the idea for the Golden Dome. (Image credit: Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)Topic for conversation
RAND's McClintock agrees that many of the technology challenges of the older Star Wars program have been overcome. "But space-based interceptors are still an incredibly complex concept. It's going to be very difficult to develop, test and field on a rapid time line," he said, "but hypothetically yes, there is a potential role for space-based interceptors as ASATs.
McClintock feels that an important topic for conversation is the need for greater transparency in space. "It's not impossible. It's incredibly difficult to hide what somebody's doing on-orbit. I think increased transparency is something that needs to be pursued," he said.
While forecasting the future is crystal-ball gazing to be sure, McClintock said he is cautiously optimistic.
"I see the incredible potential of space for the benefit of humanity. I want to keep that optimism because there's so much potential that is presently untapped," said McClintock. At present, however, "space is a contested environment in the same way that every other domain is contested. Nations want and will, and are going to use space to pursue their national interests," he concluded.
Counterspace capabilities
Can ASATs be construed as a "security blanket" for spacefaring nations?
"I wouldn't necessarily say that, but more countries are investing into counterspace capabilities because they are perceived partially as ways in which to ensure access to and use of space," responded Victoria Samson, chief director of Space Security and Stability at the Secure World Foundation that promotes cooperative solutions for space sustainability.
Continuing, Samson said nations pursuing counterspace capabilities also do so out of concern of being left behind competitors and rivals or at least not being seen as keeping up with others.
For example, U.S. Space Force officials talked a lot this past spring, Samson said, about a series of rendezvous and proximity operations (RPOs) repeatedly done by Chinese satellites throughout 2024, calling it "dog-fighting in space," a phrase that is extremely inaccurate, she said.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) had been conducting a docking procedure and officials proclaimed that they can now "dog-fight" in space as well, "which again is inaccurate," Samson said.
Strategic stability
Samson said that while she doesn't see kinetic ASATs as being particularly useful, "we're seeing the line blurred between satellites conducting Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and those that are doing RPOs," she told Space.com.
SSA means keeping an eye on objects in orbit and forecasting where they will be at any given time.
"This can be a challenge because ostensibly more information about activities and objects in orbit should be a stabilizing factor," Samson said. "But if it's being collected in a manner that is deemed to be threatening or concerning, it might itself result in escalation and upend strategic stability," she concluded.
Regarding the U.S. President Trump support of Golden Dome that contains a space-based interceptor layer, or SBI. "I have a lot of questions about its feasibility as a boost phase interceptor, but SBIs would be great ASAT weapons," said Samson.
The Secure World Foundation's 2025 Global Counterspace Capabilities Report is available online.