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Earlier this year, President Donald Trump announced the Golden Dome, a space missile defense system designed to counter long-range and hypersonic missile threats to the US. The project begins with an initial investment of $175 billion and is estimated to cost up to $542 billion over 20 years, potentially reaching trillions. A $25 billion down payment has already been secured through a Republican spending bill. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein of the US Space Force was appointed program manager, and leading defense companies such as SpaceX, Palantir, Anduril, and Lockheed Martin are preparing for involvement.
This gigantic project is a mix, I would say, of Israel’s Iron Dome and President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative. Since 2011, the Iron Dome has successfully protected Israel from short-range rockets and, as we witnessed this year, from long-range attacks as well. It also reboots and amplifies Reagan’s 1983 SDI, which at the time was nicknamed “Star Wars,” and had the goal of placing lasers and interceptors in space to protect the US against Soviet nuclear missiles.
SDI never materialized due to cost, technological limits, and political opposition, yet it had an effect on the morale of the USSR and contributed to the end of the Cold War. Moreover, it transformed the arms race and defensive thinking, inspiring and accelerating the development of many defensive systems already in place, such as the Patriot missile system.
The Golden Dome is, in reality, more than just a space-based missile defense system. It brings order to space and ensures that space is safe. Through a constant monitoring network, it will keep track of objects in orbit and provide surveillance for any hostile actions against US and allied satellites. This is achieved through the deployment of sensors in orbit and what is described as space situational awareness.
In short, sensors will track suspicious maneuvers and enable rapid — now becoming autonomous through AI — responses to any attempt to disable or destroy space assets. This is particularly important as enemies could use direct-ascent anti-satellite weapons to destroy strategic satellites. Moreover, it can monitor space debris, which poses a risk even to commercial space. Hence, the Golden Dome will also act as an important deterrent against space-based aggression.

We often forget how dependent our lives are on space. Modern defense, communication systems, and commercial businesses rely on satellites that need protection from sabotage. Militarily, I will only give a short example highlighting the importance of space assets. Without satellite support, the F-35 loses much of what makes it a fifth-generation fighter, becoming less effective and relying on older navigation methods.

Golden Dome will establish the US as the primary guarantor of security in orbit.

Khaled Abou Zahr

We all know that war is also about disrupting everyday life, both civilian and commercial activities, sometimes even before the real conflict starts, as population morale is the first to take the hit. Well, here, too, satellites can affect global internet connectivity, aviation and maritime navigation, and disaster management, as well as financial transactions. The precise timing signals from space are essential to our everyday lives.
Hence enemies destroying or disrupting key satellites not only make defense systems blind, but also affect economies and civilian life. This makes keeping assets in space a top priority across all domains: ground, sea, air, space, and cyberspace.
The essential point is not to see the Golden Dome as a focal point of the defense space strategy, or else it would become a space Maginot Line. Let me explain. Between 1928 and 1940, France constructed a network of fortifications along its borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. This impressive fortification line, built with anti-tank barriers, bunkers, artillery, and machine-gun nests, was supposed to be the ultimate protection and make France impenetrable by any army. The line was rendered useless during the Second World War when German forces invaded through Belgium to go around it. This famous French reference shows that defense alone is not a good deterrent strategy, and it is only the capacity to defeat that creates real deterrence.
Yet, when it comes to space, it is also about claiming the “space” — meaning that a successful Golden Dome, with all the space infrastructure it requires, will most certainly create “rule of law” in space. It will establish the US as the primary guarantor of security in orbit, and this should be welcomed by all Washington’s friends and allies. It will allow standards to be set to monitor, protect, and defend all spacecraft and, ultimately, create an effective “traffic monitoring and management” system.
More importantly, it will deter hostile actions, such as nuclear anti-satellite programs, or orbital intersections or collisions — yes, just like in the James Bond film “You Only Live Twice”. If peace prevails, and we all hope it does, this will ensure freedom of access for commercial and scientific missions that benefit everyone. Trump is changing the strategic game on Earth and in space, as we saw in his recent meeting in Ukraine, signaling a willingness to act decisively across stages.
The US military once fueled the rise of Silicon Valley by funding and developing technologies like semiconductors, computing, and networking. That effort later created a boom in the global economy. In the same way, the Golden Dome could not only shift the balance of power in space for decades to come, but also unleash the real epoch of the space economy. It is a huge challenge. But as I often say: “Never bet against the US.”

• Khaled Abou Zahr is the founder of SpaceQuest Ventures, a space-focused investment platform. He is CEO of EurabiaMedia and editor of Al-Watan Al-Arabi.