Asia's Space Race: National Motivations, Regional Rivalries, and International Risks
James Clay Moltz
Abstract
This book provides an in-depth policy analysis of Asia's fourteen leading space programs, concentrating especially on developments in China, Japan, India, and South Korea. It shows that, in contrast to the close cooperation practiced among European states, space relations among Asian states have become increasingly tense. If current trends continue, the Asian civilian space competition could become a military space race. The book isolates the domestic motivations driving Asia's space programs, revisiting critical events such as China's 2007 anti-satellite weapons test and manned flights, Japan ... More
This book provides an in-depth policy analysis of Asia's fourteen leading space programs, concentrating especially on developments in China, Japan, India, and South Korea. It shows that, in contrast to the close cooperation practiced among European states, space relations among Asian states have become increasingly tense. If current trends continue, the Asian civilian space competition could become a military space race. The book isolates the domestic motivations driving Asia's space programs, revisiting critical events such as China's 2007 anti-satellite weapons test and manned flights, Japan's successful Kaguya lunar mission and its Kibo module for the International Space Station (ISS), India's Chandrayaan lunar mission, and South Korea's astronaut visit to the ISS. It investigates these nations' divergent space goals and their tendency to focus on national solutions and self-reliance, rather than region-wide cooperation and multilateral initiatives. It concludes with recommendations for improved intra-Asian space cooperation and regional conflict prevention. The book also considers America's efforts to engage Asia's space programs in joint activities and the prospects for future U.S. space leadership. It extends its analysis to the relationship between space programs and economic development in Australia and across Asia.
Keywords:
Asian space programmes,
China,
Japan,
India,
South Korea,
Kaguya lunar mission,
Kibo module,
International Space Station
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2011 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780231156882 |
| Published to Columbia Scholarship Online: November 2015 |
DOI:10.7312/columbia/9780231156882.001.0001 |
