“Opens a box of Pandora.” Why Golden Dome, the large project with which Donald Trump revives a Cold War initiative, can mark the beginning of the new space weapons

The Golden Dome missile defense concept of US President Donald Trump revives a controversial, decades -old initiative, whose ambitious construction can overturn the norms in the cosmic space and can reshape the relations between the main spatial powers, reports Reuters on Thursday.

Profile analysts say the announcement of Golden Dome, a vast network of satellites and weapons on the orbit of the Earth, which is estimated to cost $ 175 billion, can lead to escalation in space militarization, a tendency that has intensified in the last decade.

Although the main spatial powers of the world-USA, Russia and China-have placed military and intelligence resources since the 1960s, have done it largely.

In the mandate of former US president Joe Biden, US space forces began to talk more about the need for greater offensive space capabilities due to threats represented by Russia and China.

A change of strategy

When Trump announced his plan on Golden Dome in January, it was a clear strategy change, which emphasizes a bold movement in space with expensive and unfortunate technology, which could be a financial advantage for American defense contractors.

The concept includes spatial missiles intended for launching satellites in orbit to intercept conventional and nuclear missiles that are launched from Earth.

“I think it opens a box of Pandora,” said Victoria Samson, director of the Department of Space Stability and Security at Secure World Foundation, referring to rockets in space. “We didn't really think about the long-term consequences of this,” she added.

Samson and other experts claim that there is a possibility that Golden Dome will cause other states to place similar space systems or develop more advanced weapons to avoid missile shield, climbing a space in space.

Different reactions from Moscow and Beijing

Russia and China have reacted differently to the last news from Trump. A spokesman for the Beijing Ministry of Foreign Affairs said he was “worried” of the project and urged Washington to abandon his development, claiming that he has “strong offensive implications” and increases the risks of militarizing the cosmic space and a race.

A Kremlin spokesman said that discussions between Moscow and Washington may be needed about weapon control in the near future.

Seeking mainly to provide protection in front of an increasing arsenal of conventional and nuclear missiles of opponents such as Russia and China or smaller states, such as North Korea and Iran, the Golden Dome project revives an effort from the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) of the former US president Ronald Reagan from the “War”

SDI considered the stationing of a constellation of strong rockets and laser weapons in the low orbit of the Earth, in order to intercept a ballistic nuclear missile from anywhere on Earth, or in its propulsion phase a few moments after launch, or in its phase of extremely fast cruise in space.

However, the plan has never been materialized, mainly due to technological obstacles, high costs and fears that it can be a violation of an abandoned treaty.

Strong allies for the Golden Dome project

Golden Dome has strong and influential allies in the community of defense contractors.

“I knew that this day will probably come. You know, we are ready for her,” said the financial director at L3harris, Ken Bedingfield, in an interview with Reuters.

“L3 Harris has started to build the network of sensors that will become the fundamental network of sensors for the Golden Dome architecture,” he said.

Also in April, Reuters reported that Spacex, Elon Musk's missile and satellite company, Donald Trump's ally, is among the main options for the construction of the system, along with the Palantir software company and the manufacturer of Drone Anduril.

In a press conference organized on Tuesday at the White House, which was also present Donald Trump, were mentioned as possible contractors for this major L3harris, Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp.

However, Golden Dome financing remains uncertain. Republican legislators have proposed an initial investment of $ 25 billion for the project, as part of a larger $ 150 billion package for the defense sector.