Border security is national security, but America’s borders are more expansive than the Rio Grande, ocean coasts or the frontier with Canada. In today’s world, protecting our borders demands that we fully secure American interests in space. Achieving that goal demands investments to build a balanced Space Force capable of deterring aggressors and, if necessary, defeating them.

Whether they realize it or not, every American has a stake in how the Space Force performs and succeeds.

Our nation’s prosperity depends on assured use of space. Financial transactions, critical utilities like water and power, the navigation built into phones, broadband internet on the go, and many more key facets of daily life depend on satellites.

Nor can our nation be safe and secure without fail-safe access to space and the freedom to operate there. U.S. and allied militaries rely on space for communications, remote sensing, early detection of missile launches, weapons guidance and more. Space is the ultimate high ground and the stakes are immense.

Today’s U.S. Space Force was initially designed and resourced to “protect and defend” these critical space capabilities. In the five years since activation, America’s Space Force has

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