SPACE
SWISSQUOTE MAY 2019
A NEW COLD WAR? During the Cold War, the United States was focused on satellites and rockets from the USSR. It was quite mutual. But recently, a new rivalry has appeared in the space industry: Beijing versus Washington, as if China had replaced the USSR. But it would be wrong to think that China has the same kind of power. “Hypernationalism justifies aerospace spending. The United States is essentially saying: ‘Watch out! China is catching up, we must speed things along’. And Xi Jinping’s regime has every reason to let people believe that China will outpace the US. “Clearly, the US is exaggerating the idea that China is its main competition in order to finance space projects,” said Isabelle Sourbès-Verger, a specialist who studies space policies at the Centre Alexandre Koyré in Paris. “But in reality, while these two countries are playing the same sport, they’re not in the same league. China cannot outpace the United States.” As proof, have a look at the numbers. The OECD estimated China’s secretive civilian and military space budget at $8.4 billion in 2017. That’s quite far from the $48 billion spent yearly by the United States. Compared to these two giants, other countries are falling behind. With a budget of $2 billion for its civilian component, the Russian programme is barely hanging on. “Everyone’s waiting for Russia’s space sector to either crumble or take off again, but it’s just stagnant,” said Sourbès-Verger. With no national pride to contend with, Europe lacks strategy and will most likely support the US programme. India, on the other hand, is focused primarily on useful space – that is, on satellites – with a yearly budget estimated at $1.9 billion.
Important dates in space exploration Russian probe Luna 9 successfully completes the first soft landing on the moon.
1958 Russian probe Luna 1 completes the first flyover of the moon.
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1966
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first people to walk on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission.
1968 With Apollo 8, the United States completed the first manned flight around the moon.
1969
