“It’s a transformed relationship between Colorado Springs and Huntsville,” Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO) told Payload. “When I took office, I don’t think it was a bad relationship, but it was one where both communities were kind of looking over their shoulder at the other. That wasn’t good for America, and I don’t think it was good for Colorado Springs or Huntsville either.”
“I will tell you, if they don’t figure it out, there is no Golden Dome—because there’s no funding,” he continued.
Northrop Grumman is on track to deliver on-orbit missile defense capabilities with Apex in 2027.
The Golden Dome missile defense system is intended to protect America—but Democratic lawmakers argue that it would have the opposite effect.
The estimate is an order of magnitude larger than the $185B figure proposed by Golden Dome chief Gen. Michael Guetlein in March
Anduril is one of 12 primes working on the SBI aspect of the Golden Dome missile defense architecture.
Asked what a Golden Dome satellite bus would have that a commercial satellite bus doesn’t, Apex Space CEO Ian Cinnamon’s answer was simple—”Hopefully, nothing.”
The 20 awards to 12 companies are worth up to $3.2B combined.
“We’re going to do target practice. We’re going to make the clay-pigeon rocket,” Kemp said. “That’s great, because that will drive scale for us…and allow us to bring our cost down for commercial customers, and other government customers.”
When Golden Dome was first announced (under a different moniker) in January 2025, companies immediately got to work, positioning themselves to compete for the ambitious missile defense program aiming to protect the US.
Golden Dome’s first fight will be won or lost on its ability to see.
In 2025, Golden Dome captured the attention of the space industry. It drove hundreds of millions in venture funding, sparked the creation of new hardware (or at least new marketing specifically targeting the program), and secured $25B from Congress.
A year ago, it didn’t exist.
House and Senate negotiators unveiled the compromise fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Bill on Monday, which would codify President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense program into law.
In-depth research, exclusive data, and expert analysis on the business and policy of space. Get ahead of the competition.
Get Access Now
