Space Shield with AI: SpaceX won a contract to create a network of satellite observers

Private aerospace corporation SpaceX, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, continues to significantly expand its direct presence in the US defense sector. The US Space Force has authorized the company for long-term implementation of a new large-scale order worth $4.16 billion. The funds are allocated for the creation of a satellite that should record the launch of foreign missiles and the movement of military aircraft around the clock. This agreement is the basis of the president’s national security program known as the Golden Dome.

 Trump’s “Golden Dome”

Representatives of the US military department use the official terminology for the “Golden Dome” initiative – “Space Indicator of Moving Air Targets”. In practice, a conceptually advanced architectural model of planetary defense against air and space weapons of potential opponents is being developed.

The essence of the idea is to carry out a continuous 360-degree scan of the palate. The deployed constellation of specialized aerial target tracking satellites will help in real-time verification of objects: cruise and hypersonic missiles, UAVs and fighter jets, raising the level of protection of the US strategic defense capability to the cosmic level.

Features of design and implementation of artificial intelligence

To create a complete barrier against potential global threats, the simultaneous use of a whole galaxy of advanced technological components will be required. According to the technical specification of the American military, the following elements will be used in the “Golden Dome”:

• Extremely sensitive high-resolution space surveillance sensors;
• High-speed encrypted laser communication channels between satellite units;
• Integrated network of protected ground bases and nodes for instantaneous reception and machine filtering of orbital telemetry.

It should be added that the US Ministry of Defense is already actively testing methods of implementing modern self-learning algorithms based on neural networks in order to multiply the level of intellectual independence of fire control systems. The military department emphasizes the importance of deep involvement of AI in the future “Golden Dome”. The computer mind will greatly relieve human operators near the remote control screens, introduce high-quality remote elements of the automatic fire stations of the anti-aircraft perimeter.

Development price

The analysis of the future defense budget indicates truly gigantic state expenditures. The total cost of the formation of the system, the initial price tag of which was previously about $175 billion, is currently estimated by Space Force experts at an incredible prospect of $1.2 trillion, distributed over the next 20 years of long-term work.

The Gold Dome deal with SpaceX is the starting practical part of this financial estimate. The SpaceX consortium must immediately assemble, launch and systematically adjust the first group of communication and control devices for an orbit around the Earth by the turn of 2028. The program will also include a number of related contracts from the government to other developers as subcontractors.

SpaceX was recently approved as a contractor for another military tender. The amount of that order was a solid $2.29 billion to build a digital defense data skeleton. It refers to the global coverage of a stable high-speed space line of the Internet, aimed at full-fledged combat coordination of the tactical units of the US regular army in all geographical regions of the world.