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This is who's developing Golden Dome's orbital interceptors—if they're ever built

April 25, 2026

Space Force awards up to $3.2 billion for Golden Dome interceptor prototypes

April 24, 2026

Artemis Program

NASA

NASA's flagship program to return humans to the Moon and establish sustained lunar presence. Artemis I (uncrewed) flew 1.4M miles around the Moon in 2022. Artemis II crew is in quarantine at KSC as of March 2026 for the first crewed lunar flyby. The program's architecture was restructured in late 2024 — Artemis III became an LEO lander demo, Artemis IV is the first landing, and Artemis V uses Blue Origin's lander. Over 60 nations signed the Artemis Accords.

Commercial Crew Program (CCP)

NASA

Public-private partnership restoring US crew launch capability after Space Shuttle retirement. SpaceX Crew Dragon is the primary ISS crew transport vehicle, with 13+ successful crewed missions since 2020. Boeing Starliner's crewed flight test in June 2024 experienced thruster issues — crew returned via SpaceX Dragon in Feb 2025. Starliner future uncertain.

Space Launch System (SLS)

NASA / Boeing (prime)

NASA's super heavy-lift launch vehicle for deep space. Block 1 successfully flew Artemis I in 2022 — most powerful rocket flown at the time. Block 1B (Exploration Upper Stage by Boeing) planned for Artemis IV+. Under scrutiny for high per-launch cost vs. SpaceX Starship. Congress has maintained funding through reconciliation acts.

Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS)

NASA

Task-order program enabling private companies to deliver NASA science payloads to the lunar surface. Created a commercial lunar lander industry from scratch. Intuitive Machines achieved first US lunar landing since Apollo (IM-1, Feb 2024). Firefly completed first fully successful commercial soft landing (Blue Ghost M1, March 2025). Multiple missions per year now planned.

Pure-play end-to-end space company — launch + spacecraft + components

Leading commercial lunar lander company — NASA CLPS anchor provider

Direct-to-cell satellite broadband — connecting unmodified phones from space

In-orbit manufacturing, space infrastructure, and mission-critical components