Defence Space & Missile Defence:
Golden Dome and the SDA Architecture
Golden Dome is funded to see and to talk, not yet to shoot. Tracking satellites, moving-target indication, a space data network and launch are on contract; space-based interceptors are 20 prototype agreements whose place in the final architecture is undecided. The money is the weak link: about $24.4 billion came from a one-off 2025 reconciliation law, and about 97% of the $17.5 billion FY2027 request depends on a second one that has not passed.
- $185B
- DoD plan, to ~2035
- $24.4B
- Enacted in 2025
- ~97%
- of FY2027 still contingent
- 162 min
- Read, 34 chapters
Chapters
What each chapter answers
- 018 min · Free
Executive Summary
Is Golden Dome a funded programme or an announcement, and which parts will last?
Key figuresComparison - 026 min · Free
The Threat Case
Why does the United States want to defend its whole territory, and why from space?
Comparison - 039 min · Free
Lessons from Ukraine and the Iran Wars
What have the wars of 2022–2026 taught about missile defence?
Key figuresRange chartRanking - 045 min · Subscribers
Golden Dome: Announced Versus Funded
What has the United States committed to, and how much has been paid for?
Timeline - 056 min · Subscribers
Where the Money Comes From
How is Golden Dome paid for, and how durable is that money?
Ranking - 064 min · Subscribers
Three Price Tags
Why do estimates range from $185 billion to $3.6 trillion?
Ranking - 075 min · Subscribers
Forty Years of Space-Based Defence: What History Teaches
Has the United States tried this before, and what happened?
Timeline - 083 min · Subscribers
The Space Force Budget in Context
How large is the US military space budget, and how much of its growth is Golden Dome?
Split - 095 min · Subscribers
SDA's Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture
What is the Space Development Agency building, and how far has it got?
Ranking - 104 min · Subscribers
The Unit Economics of a Defence Constellation
What does a defence satellite cost to buy and to keep in orbit?
Ranking - 114 min · Subscribers
Missile Warning and Tracking
Which satellites warn of and follow a missile, and what is changing?
- 122 min · Subscribers
Seeing Aircraft and Cruise Missiles from Space
Why does missile defence buy satellites that track aircraft?
Key figures - 133 min · Subscribers
The Data Layer
How do tracks reach interceptors fast enough?
Comparison - 144 min · Subscribers
Anatomy of an Engagement: The Kill Chain in Seconds
What has to happen, and how fast, to stop a missile?
Framework - 157 min · Subscribers
Space-Based Interceptors: Physics and Cost
How many interceptors would orbit, and what would they cost?
Range chart - 163 min · Subscribers
Ground, Sea and Non-Kinetic Layers
What does the rest of the shield look like?
- 174 min · Subscribers
Launch: The Demand Defence Creates
How much launch does defence space need, and who provides it?
Split - 184 min · Subscribers
Commercial Integration
How is the Department using commercial companies and contract vehicles?
Comparison - 193 min · Subscribers
Supplier Map by Layer
Who builds what, and where is the concentration?
- 205 min · Subscribers
The Demand Map, 2026–2035
How many satellites and components does the build-out need each year?
Range chart - 214 min · Subscribers
Industrial Bottlenecks
Which parts of the supply chain limit the build-out?
Ranking - 227 min · Subscribers
Europe I: The EU and NATO Layer
What are the EU and NATO building in defence space?
RankingKey figuresTimeline - 237 min · Subscribers
Europe II: National Programmes
Which European countries are building military space capability, and how much are they committing?
RankingComparison - 246 min · Subscribers
Europe III: The Missile-Warning and Interceptor Gap
Can Europe see and stop a ballistic or hypersonic missile on its own?
TimelineRanking - 256 min · Subscribers
Japan: The Ally Most Likely to Add Sensors
Could Japan become the first ally to add sensors to missile defence from space?
Key figuresTimeline - 265 min · Subscribers
Australia, Korea, India and the Wider Indo-Pacific
Beyond Japan, how do Pacific allies and partners contribute to defence space?
Ranking - 276 min · Subscribers
China: Missiles, Counterspace and Megaconstellations
What is China building that bears on Golden Dome?
Ranking - 287 min · Subscribers
Russia: Novel Weapons, Nuclear Threats in Orbit and the Lessons of Ukraine
What is Russia building that bears on Golden Dome, and what has Ukraine taught?
Timeline - 294 min · Subscribers
Stability, Debris and Arms Control
What does defence in space do to stability and the orbital environment?
Ranking - 303 min · Subscribers
What This Means for Different Readers
How should investors, lenders, suppliers and planners use these findings?
- 314 min · Subscribers
Budget Scenarios 2026–2035
How might funding evolve, and which layers survive?
Comparison - 325 min · Subscribers
Risk Register, Signals and Method
What could go wrong, and what should readers watch?
Timeline - 332 min · Subscribers
Appendix A: Awards and Funding Reference
Which awards and funding actions does the study rely on?
- 342 min · Subscribers
Appendix B: Glossary
What do the terms mean?
The first 3 chapters of this and every report are open to everyone. Space access opens all 34, with the models and their Excel files.
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Check the live record behind the study
- Free tool
Constellation Deployment Monitor
Track the SDA’s Tranche 1 launches against its aim of finishing the tranche in 2027, from the satellite catalogue.
8 large constellations against what they are licensed or filed for: satellites launched, re-entered and net pace over twelve months, and the date each milestone is reached at that pace.
Open the monitor → - Free tool
Space Contracts & Tender Radar
Follow new US defence space awards, led by the Department of the Air Force, and space surveillance tenders as they are published.
607 new US federal space awards and European tenders from the last twelve months, by part or service bought, buyer, country and stage, with the tenders still open.
Open the radar → - Free tool
Space Claim Check
Check a supplier’s or new entrant’s satellite record before a teaming or investment decision.
Type an operator’s name and see what the public satellite catalogues record: satellites launched, in orbit, operating and re-entered. The full check adds US contracts, SBIR awards, UK and NOAA licences and list screening.
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Setcoin Atlas · Space & aerospace
The thesis, against the live record
Research and contract activity on public registers, mapped to the bottlenecks this report names.
1,096
awards & contracts on record
1,063
organisations
$9.0bn
awarded (corrected)
171
new in the last 90 days
Awarded value after removing $16.9bn of aircraft and missile awards misfiled under space.
See the evidence behind each bottleneck
Free accounts see the evidence ladder, regional split and the most active organisations and projects, anonymised.
Ask about Defence Space & Golden Dome
Answers drawn from every Setcoin report and the live Atlas. Each statement links to the passage behind it.
Ask is included with every subscription
Cited answers across every report and the Atlas, with follow-up questions and a hand-off to the opportunity finder.