HS AC
AN FFRDC OPERATED BY R A N D UNDER C O N T R ACT WITH DHS
HOMELAND SECURITY
OPERATIONAL ANALYSI S CENTER
RESEARCH REPORT
DANIEL M. GERSTEIN, ERIN N. LEIDY
Emerging
Technology and
Risk Analysis
The Space Domain and Critical Infrastructure
E
nsuring critical access to space is an eco-
nomic and national security imperative. As
the December 2021 United States Space
Priorities Framework states, “Space activi-
ties are essential to our way of life. They advance
our understanding of the Earth, the universe, and
humanity; enable U.S. national security; create
good jobs and economic opportunity; enhance our
health and well-being; and inspire us to pursue our
dreams. Space capabilities provide critical data,
products, and services that drive innovation in the
United States and around the world. Access to and
use of space is a vital national interest.”
1
Given the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security's (DHS’s) broad homeland security
responsibilities and authority as the largest law
enforcement agency in the U.S. government, the
department has important equities for a wide
variety of activities that depend on assured access
to space, particularly in or related to the 16 criti-
cal infrastructure sectors. As described in “DHS
Space Policy,” these responsibilities and authority
extend to assuring future access to vital space
assets for accomplishing DHS missions in addition
to protecting and supporting the growth of unfet-
tered commercial access to space.
2
This requires
collaboration across a broad stakeholder commu-
nity that includes the U.S. interagency, industry, the
private sector, allies, and partners.
Maintaining this access and potential
increases in the use of the space domain come
at a time when space has become increasingly
“congested, contested, and competitive.”
3
Over
the period since the phrase was first coined in
the Obama administration’s 2011 National Secu-
rity Space Strategy, concerns about the space
domain have dramatically increased. According
to a 2023 assessment, “90 countries operate in
space. The value of the global space economy
was $469 billion in 2021, with other analyses pro-
jecting it will increase to over $1.25 trillion in annual
revenue by 2030 [with] more than 24,500 satel-
lites...anticipated to be launched in the next 10
years (2022–2031), over 70 percent of which will
be commercial.”
4
As of June 2024, the European
Space Agency had identified 9,800 functioning
satellites and 40,500 space debris objects greater
than 10 centimeters.
5
However, others have indi-
cated that a greater number of satellites is likely to
be launched over the next decade. As a result, the
Space Foundation’s projections might be better
considered to be a floor rather than ceiling on likely
