What is the Pentagon’s ‘Space Data Network,’ and why does it matter for Golden Dome?

(Theresa Hitchens – Breaking Defense) The Space Force’s effort to develop a complex Space Data Network (SDN) of military and commercial satellites is beginning to move from concept to reality, in part due to its foundational role for enabling the Trump administration’s planned Golden Dome missile-defense shield. The SDN, which is intended to speed getting sensor data to joint force shooters, has largely flown under the radar for military space watchers. However, it appears poised to emerge from the shadows: Pentagon Golden Dome czar Gen. Michael Guetlein said Tuesday in a rare public presentation at the McAleese Defense Programs Conference that the SDN is one of three service programs being put into place more quickly as part of Golden Dome’s recent $10 billion plus up. Golden Dome, Guetlein has repeatedly explained, will succeed or fail based on whether data can be integrated and moved from missile warning/tracking sensors to interceptors in near-real time. The SDN will provide the communications pathways for doing that, as well as giving secure command and control to military leaders — meaning the network, as envisioned, will effectively be the backbone of one of the Pentagon’s most high-profile, and high-cost, efforts. – What is the Pentagon’s ‘Space Data Network,’ and why does it matter for Golden Dome? – Breaking Defense