Space is vital infrastructure for America’s success, United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno says

In a wide-ranging conversation on the Cyber Focus podcast, United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno urged policymakers to view space as core infrastructure, not a distant frontier. “The way to think of space now is … it’s a utility for our economy, everything and our society,” Bruno said. “Not having space would be like not having water, not having highways and transportation. It absolutely is critical infrastructure as a direct implication to our military operations.” He added that the U.S. “economy is completely dependent on space.”

ULA is responsible for getting roughly 90% of America’s national security space infrastructure into orbit. Bruno has led the company for over a decade, during which the space domain has shifted from a strategic advantage to an operational dependency. “It’s not a force multiplier,” he said. “It is now absolutely essential for basic military operations.”

The implications go well beyond the Pentagon. “Agriculture is dependent on space,” Bruno noted, pointing to yield improvements tied to GPS. “We’re feeding probably 800 million people every day across the globe with the improved productivity in agriculture alone.” Maritime logistics, climate monitoring and even payments systems are also space-dependent. “You can’t pay for [goods],” Bruno added. “An adversary need not just fight us in space to enable a military action; they can harm our economy or coerce our government for fear of our economy being harmed.”

That dependency makes space a prime target. Bruno warned that a future conflict with China “will begin in space because China will see it as a means of leveling the playing field and enabling their ability to proceed with a terrestrial military action.” He also cautioned that countries such as Russia may pursue space-based nuclear weapons to threaten U.S. capabilities, even though “for us, putting a nuclear weapon in space is a giant taboo.”

Asked what changes he’d like to see from the U.S. government, Bruno was direct: “Space is a warfighting domain. We’ve got to get serious about it. We need to be able to have a whole strategy, not half a strategy.” His top priorities include designating space as critical infrastructure, developing the Golden Dome homeland missile defense system, and re-shoring manufacturing to reduce dependence on China.

Bruno’s message was clear: Space isn’t just a domain for exploration or elite military operations – it’s the backbone of modern life. And defending it, he argued, is no longer optional.

The full episode also explores space deterrence strategy, missile defense modernization, hypersonic threats and directed-energy solutions. Watch or listen to the full conversation.