However, real plans to create the first space infrastructure to enable cislunar and interplanetary travel are underway. The difference between “space as critical infrastructure” and “space critical infrastructure” is about to go from abstract to real with the recent announcement of the Marslink project and the ongoing work on LunaNet. Space critical infrastructure will soon be built, and the space community needs to start planning for what systems in space, not just LEO, need to be protected as critical infrastructure. The concept may be abstract for now, but it will not be for long, and the avoidable, unnecessary lag of thoughtful critical infrastructure policy work will leave us needlessly falling behind the pace of technology deployments.
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Plans for Marslink and LunaNet, even though they are at this point only plans, represent the first moves toward establishing critical infrastructure in space that is specifically designed to enable space activities beyond LEO. This infrastructure will exist to provide communications, PNT and astronaut safety services to multiple missions beyond Earth orbit by multiple spacefaring entities. These will be the first example of actual space critical infrastructure with more to follow as these missions get closer to launch.