The space race is taking a new turn. After years of stagnation, the 21st century has witnessed a new appetite for outer space. New players and new technologies are reigniting the dream of conquering space. How has the space race evolved in recent years and who are the new players in this conquest?
IFrom JFK to Elon Musk
1 One giant leap for mankind
The term “New Frontier”, coined by presidential candidate John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1960, resonated as a promise for a new era – politically, economically and socially. It aroused American patriotism and galvanised the space race against the USSR.
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“The New Frontier is here, whether we seek it or not. Beyond that frontier are uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus.” (J. F. Kennedy)
In response to the launching of Soviet satellite Sputnik in 1957, the US raced to be the first to land on the Moon. In 1958, President Eisenhower created NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), responsible for the civil space programs. 10 years after, on July 20th, 1969, two American astronauts walked on lunar surface.
However, following this major historical landmark, the space race deflated and stagnated for over 50 years.
2 New key players
The 21st century saw a revival of interest towards space exploration. A couple of billionaire visionaries reignited the idea to conquer space, develop space tourism and fly to Mars.
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin, Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX programs have created a modern space race made by ultra-rich men, not nations anymore.
Until recently, only a couple of prominent nations (the USA, Canada, Europe, Russia and Japan) could invest and compete in the race to space. Private companies and new powers such as India and China have created a new form of competition in investing into space-related projects.
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China launched its first satellite in 1970 and became the third country to send humans into space in 2003. China aims to build a space station. Its growing capabilities exacerbate the China / USA tensions and rivalries.
IITo the Moon and beyond
1 Breaking down barriers
Bezos, Branson and Musk aim at involving the private sector into launching satellites and people into space at a cheaper and quicker way. Their competition has sprung the imagination about outer space.
The renewed interest in space projects has had major implications for scientific research, defense and communications. Not only does the competition trigger major breakthroughs, it also results in cheaper costs.
In addition, new technologies keep on opening new horizons and further away projects. Despite the explosion of Elon Musk’s rocket in April 2023, reusable rocketry for instance may introduce new applications, technologies or competitors in this domain.
2 Recapturing public imagination
Privatisation of space has allowed NASA to go further into space, leaving private companies in charge of transport and services at low Earth orbit.
As a result, NASA has successfully launched two missions in 2022: first, it crashed into an asteroid to deviate its route. This test allows NASA to anticipate possibilities in case an asteroid was a real danger for Earth.
Secondly, the Artemis project to land on the Moon again renews hope for future projects to Mars as well, as the Artemis mission will test some of the technologies and logistics required for such a mission.