Space agencies in the European Union, India, Japan, and China have made rapid advances in space defense and exploration, each with interests in gaining technological supremacy to best take advantage of resources in space, deter enemies, and promote domestic research while preventing other countries from imitating their innovations.Īt the same time, a growing number of researchers in physics, engineering, and related fields are collaborating with international colleagues. Although the Cold War’s Space Race concluded decades ago, similar themes of a technology “arms race,” secrecy in research and development, and espionage in academia persist among spacefaring superpowers today. The Soviet Union recruited spies within scientific research corporations and institutions to gather intelligence on US innovation, such as the United States’ secret solid rocket fuel program. After the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), concerned about the Soviet Union’s apparent advantage over the United States, gathered photographic satellite images of Soviet launch sites and monitored Soviet ASAT capabilities. Both were careful to keep their research classified, though they also frequently attempted to collect intelligence on the other’s progress. With that in mind, how might states best balance national security interests with constructive (and necessary) scientific collaboration? The Origins of ConflictĬompetition in space can be traced back to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union and the United States competed for primacy in space military and transportation technology. However, the interests of scientific researchers, the creators of these technologies, and national governments, the users of these technologies, aren’t always aligned: the scientific community benefits greatly from open collaboration with international colleagues, while governments would prefer to keep new developments guarded. Countries across the world compete to employ the best and brightest scientists to work on projects like anti-satellite weapons (ASATs), launchers, and probes, which are crucial to achieving military, economic, and scientific dominance in space. In the realm of space, the race to the most advanced technology is a fierce one.
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