Payload
• Jacqueline Feldscher
Golden Dome: How a Year‑Old Program Secured $25B and Rewired Space Investment
In 2025 the Pentagon's 'Golden Dome' missile‑defense concept vaulted from idea to industry catalyst, winning $25 billion in congressional funding and triggering hundreds of millions in venture investment. The program spurred new hardware initiatives, prototype contracts and supplier expansions across commercial space firms — despite being nonexistent a year earlier.
