New NASA/DOD/USSF Report Announces “The New Space Race”

Keith’s note: NASA, DoD, USAF, and Space Force have decided that there’s a “New Space Race” between the U.S. and China. Yes, there’s competition for influence and dominance in space between America and China. But to characterize things as bipolar without considering the true multipolarity of space – all the other spacefaring countries and companies with budgets that exceed many nation’s budgets – is simplistic. Yes, there’s overt competition. There’s also overt collaboration and cooperation. Here’s the report.

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Report: State Of The Space Industrial Base: Winning the New Space Race for Sustainability, Prosperity and the Planet (NASA, DoD, USAF, USSF)

“The world is freer and more prosperous for America having won the first space race against the first authoritarian space power, and having shaped an open system of commerce and information. Six decades later, U.S. leadership is once again contested by not one, but two authoritarian regimes, who seek to exert global dominance through control of the space domain.

Winning the New Space Race is a national imperative and a critical component of the preservation of liberty and prosperity in the 21st century for the United States, our allies, and partners. The rise of China as both an economic and space power is an imminent threat to democracy, the free market economy, and the international liberal order.“

“The New Space Race Defined.

The U.S. is now in the dawn of a new era of strategic competition that threatens its peaceful and prosperous vision for the future on Earth and in space. China’s recent emergence as a capable competitor in the space domain is concerning, as is its competing vision wherein the U.S. is permanently displaced as the leading economic and military power on Earth and beyond. China has defined both the timespan and scope of the new space race for sustainability, prosperity and the planet. China’s national space timeline is 2045 where it intends to be the foremost spacepower:

1) eclipsing the U.S. in its economic activities and services;
2) eclipsing the U.S. in its foreign partner relations and shaping of the space governance system; 3) eclipsing the U.S. in feats that inspire the world, and
4) eclipsing the U.S. in military power. China’s vision and goals are well laid out with top-level support from President Xi, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.

Chairman Xi has mobilized a whole-of-society effort towards his ends, embarking on a comprehensive range of ambitious goals, seeking to grow the market share and capabilities of its ‘commercial’ space sector with global finance, and developing robust counter-space capabilities to make the U.S. uncomfortable. China has a clear vision for human expansion: it plans to build (in concert with Russia) a Moon base (International Lunar Research Station), then to place humans on the Moon, then to place humans on Mars.“

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Keith’s Note: According to the Atlantic Council press release for the report: “The event will feature the launch of the State of the Space Industrial Base 2022 report, a joint effort of the U.S. Space Force, Defense Innovation Unit, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. The report collates perspectives of over 350 experts and officials as heard during the fourth-annual State of the Space Industrial Base conference in Spring 2022.”

Keith’s note: Regarding my flyby analysis of this report. Yes, it covers a lot of real estate – with three major, short sighted, and somewhat naive flaws:

1. Its all about China China China.

2. It incorrectly Assumes that this Administration will do anything strategic – or that future ones will

3. Its all about hard power. “Soft power” is mentioned exactly once in this document.