Link to article: https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/01/opinions/china-space-race-us-spacex-berger/index.html
China’s chances of becoming the dominant space power in the 21st century are growing steadily as they continue advancing in a number of fronts in space. The country is reportedly paying close attention to what NASA is doing to get ahead.
In December, China became only the third nation to return Moon rocks to Earth. Earlier this month, China signed an agreement with Russia to work together to build a Moon base. Later this spring, the country will seek to join the United States and become only the second country to land and operated a rover on the surface of Mars. Based on China’s recent accomplishments in space, it’s not unlikely if the nation surpasses the United States in the space industry.
For now, NASA has the advantage of a more sturdy space program and a stronger commercial space industry. However, unless they start incorporating commercial space more and executing a bolder plan of exploration, China’s consistency and mimicking of the U.S.’s strengths will overcome NASA’s lead.
This article is important because it demonstrates a weakness of the U.S. Congress and NASA. NASA has spent more than $20 billion building a large rocket, the Space Launch System, that could soon be obsolete. Additionally, the cost of this expensive single-use rocket combined with NASA’s Artemis program could exceed NASA’s congressional funds by more than 43%. Also, while there’s a chance that NASA might abandon the International Space Station in a few years, China is already training European astronauts and teaching them Chinese.
Also, advanced weapons at China’s military bases can fire warheads that smash satellites and damage delicate sensors, therefore having the potential to cut off the Pentagon from contact with fleets of satellites that track enemy movements, relay communications among troops, and provide information for precise targeting. All in all, China poses a huge threat to the American military in space, and the Biden administration has yet to indicate how to contend with the threat.
This article relates to what we’ve been learning in class because the geopolitics of China has influenced the nation’s rise as a leader in the space industry. For most of the twentieth century, China was not internationally perceived as “rising.” However, China’s growth in the post-Cold War period allowed the nation to rise to a great power. And as Chinese intellectual Zheng Bijian stated, “China does not seek hegemony or predominance in world affairs… China’s development depends on world peace– a peace that its development will in turn reinforce.” And as growth continued, China’s influence soon spilled over into other realms, including space travel. With this comes the power transition between China and the US and eventually the formation of a new international order.