Governing the race between the space superpowers

A new publication from Flinders University space expert Associate Professor Rodrigo Praino suggests open communication and international relations should be a focus for space programs.

The expanding use of outer space for human activities requires increasing attention to policies and governance, with Praino warning of an increasing need for a well-developed strategic plan to manage competing national interests.

Praino, who leads the Space Power and Policy Applied Research Consortium (SPPARC) at Flinders, said the race to explore and possibly settle the Moon and Mars, and to control satellite communications, is just part of the race to gain power in space.

“Space science and technology is racing ahead at a rate faster than knots, so it’s important that work steps up in the international relations and decision-making sphere,” he said.

“Starting with the latest lunar exploration endeavours, there seems to be a more competitive approach towards a progressive polarisation of the international space community around two separate and potentially conflicting blocs.

“We need to build more open communications around the growing competition dynamics between the three leading space powers, the United States, Russia and China — both with the return of human flights to the Moon and other initiatives of the space superpowers.”

Power, State and Space — Conceptualising, Measuring and Comparing Space Actors (Springer) makes comparative assessments of the activities of most of the active ‘space actors’ — led by the US, China and Russia and followed by others such as Europe, India, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Australia and Brazil.

The data confirms the rise of China as a fully-fledged space power, now in the same league as the US and Russia, and accumulating a series of incredible feats and achievements that will enable it to pursue even higher space ambitions in the upcoming decade, the analysis concludes.

The new evaluation of ‘space power’ and ‘space power status’ will play an important role in 21st century political, military, commercial and technological change and competition.

“The competition between China and the US emerges as the dominant scenario,” Praino said.

“This leaves Europe — at a distant fourth place — and countries such as Japan, India and Australia in need to plan to increase their space capacity and autonomy to catch up to the political and technical abilities of the dominant space powers.”

A recent report by KPMG and the American Chamber of Commerce estimated Australia could see more than 1300 lucrative specialised jobs and $US400 million in exports within 10 years from the space sector. It would include key trade, investment and skilled employment partnerships with the US in AI, digital economy, quantum computing, biotechnology and space science, energy and clean technologies.

Image caption: A new European Space Internship Program has been launched by Flinders University and the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), an independent think-tank based in Vienna, Austria. It gives Flinders undergraduates from the Outer Space Governance elective topic the chance to spend 12 weeks at ESPI’s headquarters working on space policy matters, space law and space governance. Associate Professor Rodrigo Praino, right, and Marco Aliberti, Associate Manager and International Engagement Lead at ESPI, are pictured recently at the Australian Space Discovery Centre in Adelaide.