Bipartisan bill designates space as critical infrastructure sector

A bipartisan group of House members introduced a bill Thursday to designate space as a critical infrastructure sector, a move aimed at ensuring the rapidly evolving industry gets adequate resources and future security protections.

The Space Infrastructure Act would direct the Homeland Security secretary to designate space systems, services and technology as a sector of critical infrastructure. The bill was introduced by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), co-chairs of the California Aerospace Caucus, along with Reps. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).

The government currently recognizes 16 infrastructure sectors as critical, such as water, energy, communications and financial services. The space industry, consequently, has had to “rely on collecting threat and security information from a patchwork of the 16 existing sectors,” a press release from the lawmakers’ offices stated.

The bipartisan bill is meant to ensure that space gets its own “cogent security analyses of the space-based assets upon which our society relies,” the announcement added.

The bill follows a recommendation earlier this year from the Cyberspace Solarium Commission 2.0 that called for space systems to be designated as a critical infrastructure sector.

Members of the commission, which is rooted in helping the U.S. defend against cyberattacks, wrote in a report in April that such a move “would close current gaps and signal both at home and abroad that space security and resilience is a top priority.”

The House lawmakers stressed the designation would strengthen national security, especially as the economy increasingly relies on technology support in space.

“Space is infrastructure. So many things we rely on, such as navigation systems, banking, and communications systems, function with the help of technology in space,” Lieu said in a statement. “Designating space as a critical infrastructure sector would help ensure the industry receives the attention and resources it needs, thereby strengthening our national security.”

Calvert said the legislation “takes appropriate measures to protect” space systems, adding, “As our economy becomes increasingly reliant on the support of space-based systems and services, we must act accordingly to increase the safeguards that shield them from any potential threats.”