Avoiding the 'Thucydides Trap': U.S.-China Relations in Strategic Domains by Dong Wang & Travis Tanner

Author:Dong Wang & Travis Tanner [Wang, Dong & Tanner, Travis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367638382
Google: X5NzzgEACAAJ
Goodreads: 58081167
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2022-06-24T06:32:15+00:00

U.S. views on Sino-U.S. relations in space

U.S. interests and priorities in space

The United States sees space as a critical domain to its security and prosperity. The current national space policy, issued by the Obama administration in 2010, states that “the United States considers the sustainability, stability, and free access to, and use of, space vital to its national interests.”7 This statement is a reflection of the fact that the United States currently spends the most on space activities (roughly $40 billion a year across national security and civil space programs)8 and has the most satellites in orbit of any country. Out of more than 1,300 total active satellites, the United States has launched roughly 550, of which nearly 300 belong to the U.S. government.9

Space-based capabilities and services provide the foundation for U.S. national security. At the strategic level, they enable communications with U.S. nuclear and strategic forces. Space capabilities are also essential to the verification and monitoring of arms control treaties and form the cornerstone of the United States’ intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities. At the operational and tactical levels, space capabilities are the essential enablers for the United States’ ability to defend its borders, project power to protect its allies and interests overseas, and defeat adversaries.

Space capabilities are also a critical piece of the U.S.—and the global—economy. Recent studies have estimated that the Global Positioning System (GPS) alone contributed more than $68 billion to the United States’ economy just in 2013.10 U.S. satellites also provide essential data to improve weather forecasting and modeling, the value of which is hard to measure but is likely in the billions. The global space economy is currently estimated to be more than $330 billion a year, with likely trillions more in indirect benefits to everything from crop management to international banking and trade, all of which benefits U.S. national and economic security.11

Civil space activities also continue to play a significant role in U.S. national prestige and soft power, but large-scale programs are increasingly hindered by political obstacles. Although human spaceflight and exploration are no longer the national priority they were during the race to the moon, there continues to be strong public interest in and support for U.S. civil space activities.12 The ISS remains a vibrant symbol of international cooperation and collaboration on exploration and science, and robotic missions such as the Curiosity and Opportunity rovers on Mars and the New Horizons mission to Pluto continue to make global headlines. Much of the American public and many in Congress still feel a strong sense of pride in the United States’ accomplishments in space, although this has not translated into a larger budget to achieve the goals that some space advocates would like NASA to achieve. There is still significant debate between the White House and Congress, and within Congress, over long-term strategy and goals for U.S. human spaceflight and exploration.13

In the midst of all this, the commercial space sector in the United States is currently undergoing a significant boom. Several companies continue

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