The New Space Race: Foreign Policy

The rollout of Space Force as a separate branch of the US armed services has marked a renewed push for space dominance. Since then, Pentagon officials have been working toward the congressionally mandated deadline of 2022 to build an all-American rocket, powered by American-made engines. Current US rockets rely on Russian-manufactured RD-180 engines to send satellites into space, a remnant of the Cold War space race when the US encouraged Soviet spending on space projects rather than on aid to North Korea. As the relationship between the two countries chilled during the past decade, the United States is determined to end its technological dependence on Russian technology. Two out of four bidding companies will win contracts with the defense department to develop new rocket engines. Two newcomers to the space industry, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, face off with established companies, Northrop Grumman and United Launch Alliance. – YaleGlobal