The New Space Race

Space sparks a wide range of emotions. Since the 1960s, advocates have invoked the ideals of pure science, exploration, and fundamental human curiosity to push for an expansive – and expensive – vision of U.S. space policy. As both the grand embodiment of human achievement and a prime arena for superpower competition between America and the Soviet Union, this vision for U.S. space policy has captured the public imagination and U.S. presidents alike.

However, that dynamic has faltered since the end of the Cold War as other countries and private companies began the push to democratize space, especially in earth’s near orbit. This shift from a bipolar to a multipolar – and heavily commercialized – system offers boundless opportunities to both accelerate space exploration and augment U.S. national security assets in orbit. But that opportunity comes with great risk, as a dizzying new array of space-based threats proliferate against everything from commercial communications satellites to U.S. military assets in space.