If you are old enough to remember, you may recall a proposed plan called "Star Wars" back in the 80's. The Reagan administration wanted to have satellite defense systems set up that would protect us from nuclear missile launches. The whole thing was scrapped by later administrations due to it being too complex.
However, Raytheon is wanting to bring the whole idea back. The company is working on four different kill vehicles that they believe will defend the US in the future.
The video below is one of the original videos aired to try to get the American people on board with the "Star Wars" project.