A recent study from the Congressional Budget Office found that the current cost of space-based interceptors, or SBIs, is up to 40 percent lower compared to earlier estimates, but the satellite requirements of the administration’s Golden Dome are expected to offset any savings. The findings published Monday revealed that the cost of deploying and operating an SBI constellation in 2025 would only be $161 billion, down from $264 billion according to the CBO’s estimate in 2004. 

CBO conducted the study on the behest of the request of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. 

The study took into consideration multiple options for SBI, with the most expensive alternative examined costing about $542 billion. For comparison, based on CBO’s 2004 projection, the most expensive option was $831 billion. 

Golden Dome Potential Price Increases

The cost of launching spacecraft into orbit is lower today due to the availability of very large rockets such as SpaceX’s Starship, allowing organizations to deploy more satellites in a mission. However, the shape and volume of the proposed missile interceptor would impact final launch costs. 

Each satellite will also need to be “precisely located in relation to one another in different orbits,” study authors wrote, making smaller launchers more suited for the project. 

The study also noted that launch makes up only a small percentage of a constellation’s total cost. 

CBO also looked at changing requirements due to the recent activities and growing capabilities of U.S. adversaries. The SBI constellation assessed for the study can only counter one or two intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, fired by North Korea. Over the years, Pyongyang has updated its arsenal and has fielded solid-fuel missiles, which are more difficult to intercept. The East Asian country may also be capable of launching a volume of missiles that can overwhelm an SBI constellation, the study warned. 

China and Russia present bigger threats to the Golden Dome and U.S. national security. The CBO said an SBI constellation that can effectively shield the U.S. from attacks would need to be much bigger than previous projections and, as a result, more costly.

Traditionally, operas tend to take grand, historical characters as their subject matter. “Shakespearean figures, mythical characters from Wagner, Puccini’s tragic heroines, Verdi’s conflicted kings,” opera enthusiast and Washington National Opera board of trustees member Daniel Glaser told ExecutiveGov. Glaser pointed out that in modern times, a person like Steve Jobs fits this bill even more than you might imagine. Jobs—and tech innovators like him—could be seen as the pivotal shapers of society to stand alongside the aforementioned stormy (anti-)heroes. His legacy is powerful, his impacts expansive and he’s not without his own contradictions and dark side.

That’s why WNO was intrigued by “The (Re)evolution of Steve Jobs,” a show that debuted in 2017 in San Francisco. Composed by Mason Bates and with libretto by Mark Campbell, it follows Jobs’ life and career, including his much-touted ascendence from a garage-experimenting young man to a tech titan. Glaser, who is head of global jurisdictional services at K2 Integrity and a former Treasury Department assistant secretary, thinks the opera, which runs at the Kennedy Center from May 2 through the 10th, to be prescient.

“It’s especially timely now, given the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, machine learning and tech innovation. These people aren’t just business figures—they’re shaping politics and culture. Presenting an opera like this in the nation’s capital feels especially relevant,” he mused.

Why Did WNO Choose the Steve Jobs Opera?

The Washington National Opera was designated by U.S. Congress as the national opera company in 2000. As such, the organization takes it upon itself to give primacy to works written by American composers, often performed in English, Glaser told us. For the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence next year, the company will be putting on productions of works by Scott Joplin as well as slightly more contemporary shows like “Porgy and Bess” and “The Crucible.”

The current run of “The (Re)evolution of Steve Jobs” is in line with this mission. Glaser is encouraging technology enthusiasts who might not otherwise even give opera a second thought to consider attending. It could be a gateway into a new passion, as it was for him—Glaser considers his conversion into being an opera lover to be life changing.

What’s the Larger Significance of the Show?

Glaser believes the writing and staging of this show says something bigger about how technology has become part of the fabric of American life.

“I think this is a sign that the tech world has truly entered culture in a meaningful way. It’s no longer just a spectator or a facilitator of culture—it’s become a subject of art itself. Taking the life of Steve Jobs and elevating it to operatic treatment signals what we now see as important in our society,” he said.

“I think anyone interested in culture—and especially in the tech world—would find it compelling. And beyond all that, it’s just beautiful music,” Glaser added.

“The Re(evolution) of Steve Jobs” is playing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. now. Explore information about the show and see it before the run concludes!