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It’s Unanimous: Space Already Functions as Critical Infrastructure
Space may not officially be the United States’ 17th critical infrastructure sector. But in practice, experts across government, academia, and industry say it already functions as one — deeply embedded in the systems that power modern life. From GPS-enabled financial transactions to airline navigation, precision agriculture, emergency response, electric grid synchronization, and military operations, space-based services quietly underpin nearly every other sector formally recognized as critical infrastructure.
“Most people don’t really think about space,” says Bruce McClintock, senior researcher at the RAND Corporation and lead of its Space Enterprise Initiative. “It’s kind of in the background.” That invisibility is part…[continued]
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