The United States is involved in a new global space race, to which individual entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and even Richard Branson are making enormous and positive contributions. Space exploration has been much in the news of late, with efforts by Russia, China, India and Japan to send craft to the moon, and beyond. While these efforts have achieved varying degrees of success, they leave little doubt as to the existence of a second-generation space race, which differs in many respects from that which was carried on in the 1960s. This new race is no longer exclusively between the United States and Russia. Today it is fueled far more by the security and defense interests of the participating countries than ever before. And, especially as to the United States, it is a race that is being heavily influenced by the unique space-related visions of entrepreneurs such as Musk and Bezos. For those visions offer a unique example of how private ventures and government can partner to achieve important national goals, in contrast to the state-driven efforts of other countries. For example, China’s leadership has spoken openly of its intent to become “a great space power.” In 2019, it became the first country to land a probe on the dark side of the moon. Earlier this summer it launched a craft that transferred three astronauts to populate its new, permanent space station located in low earth orbit. More famously, its “Lunar Exploration Project” plans to land a person on the moon by 2030.
Full story : How Entrepreneurs Are Leading The New Space Race.
