Nothing New Under the Golden Dome

Aaron Stein and Sam Lair will discuss their forthcoming FPRI report on the cost and consequences of proposed space-based interceptor satellite constellations under President Trump's Golden Dome program. Debates around space-based interceptors, especially those in the 1980s and 1990s surrounding the Strategic Defense Initiative and Brilliant Pebbles, hinged on the cost of placing the needed number of satellites for a constellation into orbit. With the advent of proliferated constellations in low earth orbit such as Starlink, those debates are worth revisiting. Adapting models used to assess the size of Brilliant Pebbles constellations in the 1990s, FPRI researchers examined what kind of constellation would be needed to deal with several representative contemporary missile threats, the cost of such constellations, and possible adversary responses.

 

Join us for a conversation with Aaron and Sam about the report and what their findings suggest for the Golden Dome program writ large.