DENVER — Defense technology firm Anduril Industries said May 5 it has partnered with a group of commercial space companies and a U.S. government research lab to develop space-based missile interceptors for the Golden Dome program.
Anduril is one of 12 companies selected by the Space Force to build space-based interceptors, a core element of the Pentagon’s planned layered missile defense architecture.
“Anduril will develop, test, and deliver affordable solutions to support the U.S. Space Force’s space-based interceptor program,” the company’s senior vice president of engineering, Gokul Subramanian, said in a statement.
The company said its subcontractors include Impulse Space, Inversion Space, K2 Space, Sandia National Laboratories and Voyager Technologies.
“We are integrating critical, proven systems technologies from Impulse Space, Inversion Space, K2 Space, Sandia National Labs, and Voyager Technologies into our solutions for SBI, ensuring that we will be able to deliver quickly and at scale,” Subramanian said.
The partners are a mix of commercial startups and established government-backed research.
Impulse Space develops in-space propulsion and maneuvering vehicles. Its president and chief operating officer, Eric Romo, said the company is “excited to work on missions that are technically challenging and globally meaningful, and Golden Dome is both.”
Inversion Space is building reentry vehicles designed to return payloads from orbit to Earth on demand. Its co-founder and chief executive, Justin Fiaschetti, said the company is “building systems designed for speed, scale and real operational use.”
K2 Space manufactures high-power satellite buses, which provide the underlying spacecraft platform needed to host interceptor payloads and associated systems. Co-founder and chief executive Karan Kunjur said the company is “proud to be involved with Golden Dome to demonstrate what our technologies can bring to the warfighter.”
Sandia National Laboratories contributes expertise in advanced weapons technology. Scott McEntire, senior manager for hypersonics, said the lab brings “decades of experience in advanced weapons development to bear as we partner to create new systems.”
Voyager Technologies has a broad portfolio of space and missile defense technologies. Matt Magaña, president of space, defense and national security, said Anduril “understands speed and national security. We’re bringing the full force of our company to execute with the scale, infrastructure and technical depth the mission demands.”
Boost-phase interception
Space-based interceptors are weapons deployed in orbit designed to destroy enemy missiles during the boost phase, the earliest stage of flight. Golden Dome is intended to counter advanced threats such as hypersonic weapons and large-scale missile attacks that could overwhelm traditional ground- and sea-based defenses.
By operating from space, interceptors could respond within seconds of launch, potentially neutralizing missiles before they leave adversary airspace or deploy countermeasures.
The Space Force selected 12 companies, including Anduril, to develop early-stage interceptor capabilities as part of the program.
Michael Guetlein, who leads Golden Dome, has said the goal is to demonstrate an initial layered missile defense capability by the summer of 2028.