The White House announced plans this week to develop a “Golden Dome,” a comprehensive missile-defense system to protect the U.S. from threats launched across land, sea, and space platforms. The system’s advanced interceptor technology would be designed to neutralize missiles at every stage of their trajectory, with a particular emphasis on stopping threats in the early flight “boost” phase.
Patrick Binning, an expert in space systems and missions, weighs in on the technological challenges of creating such a system. Currently an instructor in the Whiting School of Engineering’s Engineering for Professionals Space Systems Engineering program, he previously chaired the program and served as mission area executive for the National Security Space at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory from 2016 to 2025.
He leads instruction for 675.734 The Fundamentals of Celestial and Orbital Mechanics and 675.781 The Physics of Space Security. He co-instructs 675.701 Applications of Space Systems Engineering.
How would the Golden Dome system work, and how is it different from existing missile-defense systems like Israel’s?
Golden Dome is designed to integrate four key capabilities to protect the United States from advanced missile threats: Missile Warning, Missile Tracking, Missile Defeat, and Assessment. The system will first alert U.S. forces that a threat has been launched, then continuously track it through the early stages of flight. This tracking is vital. During the boost and ascent phases, it’s often unclear what kind of launch has occurred. It could be a space launch, a ballistic missile, a hypersonic weapon, or even a fractional orbital bombardment system.
A defining feature of Golden Dome is its inclusion of space-based interceptors. Once a threat is identified, the system can respond almost immediately, dramatically shortening the time required to launch a countermeasure. Having interceptors already in space means they’re closer to potential flight paths and better positioned to respond in time. Finally, Golden Dome will assess whether the intercept was successful. If it wasn’t, additional engagement opportunities can be pursued either from space or from traditional ground- or sea-based defense systems.
Why focus on intercepting missiles during their boost phase, and what makes that so challenging?
It’s in the United States’ interest to neutralize missile threats as early in flight as possible. The boost and ascent phases offer the best opportunities to intercept, before the weapon reaches space or deploys countermeasures. These threats are launched from the ground or air and initially travel through the atmosphere before entering space. If intercepted early, we prevent adversaries from deploying maneuverable hypersonic vehicles in the atmosphere during reentry or releasing decoys that could confuse our defenses later.
The challenge is speed. These early phases last only 10 to 20 minutes, and decisions must be made in seconds. Golden Dome must rapidly detect the launch, identify the threat type, calculate an intercept solution, and execute all in near real time. That requires a sophisticated network of space-based sensors, automated data processing, and secure global communications to coordinate a response before it’s too late. The complexity of this timeline is what makes boost-phase defense one of the hardest problems in missile defense.
What role would space-based technologies, like satellite networks and space-based interceptors, play, and why are they so complex and expensive to develop?
This is what makes Golden Dome different from existing missile-defense systems like Israel’s. Israel’s system protects a compact region from short- and medium-range attacks. The United States, by contrast, must defend against long-range threats that could originate from anywhere on the globe. That means space is not optional; it’s essential.
Only by operating in space can Golden Dome achieve global sensor coverage, global interceptor access, and a secure, resilient communications network. All three are required for a responsive, layered missile defense. While space systems are complex and historically expensive, costs are falling thanks to American innovation, commercial investment, and lighter, more capable technologies.
Importantly, space-based interceptors may also help defend our critical space infrastructure. Just last month, Gen. Stephen Whiting, Commander of U.S. Space Command, publicly asked for orbital interceptors. Our competitors are developing anti-satellite weapons intended to blind or disable our space assets in a conflict. Golden Dome’s interceptors could serve a dual-use mission by defending both the United States and our on-orbit assets.