Stratospheric aerosol injection is a solar geoengineering method by which tiny particles cast into the stratosphere reflect a portion of incoming sunlight away from Earth.  Recent work has demonstrated that solar geoengineering may be effective in preventing components of the climate system known as “tipping elements” from collapsing by cooling the atmosphere and thereby preventing the crossing of dangerous temperature thresholds.  In particular, many of the highest risk tipping elements reside in the cryosphere and their temperature thresholds are expected to be passed in coming decades regardless of global mitigation pathways.  A solar geoengineering program at high latitudes could effectively manage climate risk by cooling the Arctic and Antarctic, thereby preventing tipping elements from collapsing.  This paper investigates the ground and air infrastructure that would be required to operate such a solar geoengineering program by the year 2040.  We first describe the logistics of such a program, including airport base location choice, plane procurement and modification strategies, and projected costs.  We find that infrastructure development for a polar solar geoengineering program would need to commence by 2030 in order to successfully safeguard cryospheric tipping elements, suggesting that research and decision-making processes for a stratospheric aerosol injection program should be approached with urgency.