Forbes
When President Reagan proposed a “Star Wars” missile defense system in 1983, as a science-obsessed high school student, I was enthralled at the idea of space-based lasers and particle weapons. Reagan’s vision, while clearly technically infeasible at the time, galvanized an entire generation of young minds to pursue careers at the intersection of science, technology and national security.
Today, with rising threats from stealthy cruise missiles and maneuverable hypersonic glide vehicles, missile defense has taken on a new national urgency. The White House recently launched the “Golden Dome for America,” an ambitious effort to build a next-generation defense shield for the U.S. homeland. This program sets a bold goal: a layered, high-tech missile defense shield capable of detecting and defeating a wide array of threats before they reach U.S. soil.
