Overview
Every Step From Chip to Orbit in One State
Golden Dome is the US missile defense architecture set up by Executive Order 14186 on January 27, 2025 and led by Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, layering space-based sensors and interceptors over ground radars, terminal interceptors and an AI command-and-control backbone against Chinese and Russian ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles. Gen. Guetlein has testified to $185B through 2035; the Congressional Budget Office estimates $1.2 trillion over 20 years.
Its space layer runs through Texas on a supply chain no other state holds end to end: chip design and photomasks in Dallas-Fort Worth, the Trusted Foundry, sensors and software in Austin, radiation testing in College Station, interceptors in Grand Prairie, satellite buses in Houston and launch at Boca Chica.
| Element | Job | Contractors | Texas link |
|---|---|---|---|
| PWSA tracking satellites | Detect and track missiles from low Earth orbit with fire-control-quality data | L3Harris $955M, Sierra Space $798M, Northrop Grumman $764M, Lockheed Martin $1.1B | Electronics tested at the Cyclotron Institute; Lanteris buses from Houston |
| Space Data Network backbone and SB-AMTI | Secure transport among satellites, sensors and weapons; persistent tracking of airborne targets from space | SpaceX: $2.29B data network, $4.16B SB-AMTI | Starshield satellites launched from Starbase |
| Space-based interceptors | Kill vehicles in orbit for boost and midcourse intercept | 12-company prototype pool, $3.2B in OTAs | Integration at Lockheed Martin Grand Prairie; launch from Starbase |
| Command and control | The AI system fusing sensor data and directing weapons; Gen. Guetlein's "secret sauce" | Palantir and Anduril consortium | Austin engineering offices |
The corridor
Nine Steps, One State
Each step is a site; hover one to find it on the map.
- 1
Chip design · Dallas
Texas Instruments
Space-grade data converters, power management and RF parts for tracking satellites and interceptors
- 2
Photomasks · Allen
Photronics
Trusted photomask production inside the domestic DMEA-accredited chain
- 3
Trusted Foundry · Austin
SkyWater Fab 25
The only DMEA Category 1A Trusted Foundry in Texas, 130nm to 65nm
- 4
Radiation testing · College Station
Texas A&M Cyclotron Institute
Heavy-ion testing every chip must pass before it flies; MDA-funded expansion
- 5
Sensors and EW · Austin
BAE Systems
RF and EO/IR countermeasures, electronic warfare and sensor integration
- 6
Interceptors · Grand Prairie
Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control
Next Generation Interceptor prime, PAC-3 MSE and THAAD; 550 acres, about 15,500 employees
- 7
Satellite buses · Houston
Intuitive Machines / Lanteris
Lanteris 300 buses for the SDA Tracking Layer through L3Harris
- 8
Command and control · Austin
Palantir and Anduril
Lead the software consortium; the traditional primes are their subcontractors
- 9
Launch · Boca Chica
SpaceX Starbase
Starship launches for the Starshield, SB-AMTI and data network constellations
A rad-tolerant chip designed in Dallas, printed from an Allen photomask, fabricated at Fab 25, tested at the Cyclotron Institute, built into a BAE sensor, mounted on a Lanteris bus in Houston and launched on Starship from Boca Chica never leaves Texas. Not every Golden Dome part takes that path, but every step of it exists here.
Contracts
Where the Money Lands
SpaceX's confirmed 2026 Pentagon awards for the program exceed $8B. Palantir's consortium value is undisclosed. Raytheon builds THAAD radar in Austin and holds a SHIELD award; BAE is SHIELD-eligible; SkyWater holds up to $170M of DoD rad-hard work at its Minnesota fab alongside Fab 25 volume.
Procurement
SHIELD and Other Transactions
The Missile Defense Agency buys through two routes. SHIELD is a 10-year, $151B-ceiling multiple-award contract; by January 2026 MDA had approved 2,440 of 2,463 applicant vendors. Other Transaction Authority agreements carry the $3.2B interceptor prototype pool and SpaceX's $6.45B SB-AMTI and data network awards; SB-AMTI went from requirement to contract in two months.
Congress provided $24B for Golden Dome in the 2025 reconciliation law and $13B for missile defense and space programs in the FY2026 appropriations act. FY2027 funding is less certain.
The bottleneck
Radiation Testing Is the Gate
Hundreds of satellites, each with hundreds of commercial chip types never characterized for orbit, must pass heavy-ion testing first. The US has three facilities that do it: the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A&M, the largest; Michigan State's FRIB; and Berkeley Lab's 88-inch cyclotron. MDA is funding expansion at Texas A&M ($11M) and Michigan State ($14.2M).
The Cyclotron Institute is the only one inside the same corridor as the contractors whose parts it tests. Terafab at Gibbons Creek, 15 miles east, will make the D3 orbital chip, whose radiation tolerance comes from design rather than process, so every lot will need beam time there.
Record
Dataset Record
- Sources
- Executive Order 14186; MDA, SDA and Space Force awards; CBO; congressional appropriations; company announcements through October 2026
- Contracts
- Announced award values; program ceilings excluded
- Map
- Sites placed by city
- Last verified
- Q4 2026