August 14, 2020
Russia and China Playing Musical Chairs in Zero Gravity
As SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket hurled the Dragon capsule and its two astronauts into orbit, marking the first human spaceflight from U.S. soil since 2011 and the first ever for a commercial company, Russia saw its monopoly on putting humans in space fade rapidly into the background. Coupled with the return of human spaceflight to the United States, China continues its march toward its own sustained human spaceflight with its Long March 5B heavy-lift rocket and new spacecraft initiative. Russia, who is unique in having close ties to both U.S. and Chinese space programs, stands at a crossroads. Russia can seek greater cooperation in space with China and risk losing technology, or risk losing any benefit it could gain from greater cooperation and still watch China pull ahead. Regardless of the trajectory the Sino-Russian relationship takes, there are significant implications for U.S. national security.
American defense planners need to not overinflate the threat of Russian-Chinese cooperation, but still understand and plan for those areas where their combined efforts might lead to new capabilities.
Russia and China currently cooperate in space for material benefit, broader strategic foreign policy goals, and potential military benefits. However, their space cooperation, just like defense cooperation, is constrained by a level of mistrust, the need to protect defense-related technologies, and disparities in economic strength and priorities.
Read the full article in War on the Rocks.
More from CNAS
-
NATO, China, and Russia: A Balancing Act? with Sara Bjerg Moller and Ian Brzezinski
Podcast
Sara Bjerg Moller and Ian Brzezinski join Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss the future of NATO and its ability to balance security challenges from both China a...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Sara Bjerg Moller & Ian Brzezinski
-
It’s Still Hard to Be America’s Ally
Commentary
The drive to enshrine a U.S. foreign policy for the American middle class may, in particular, pose new dilemmas for long-term allies....
By Richard Fontaine
-
Russia's Military Buildup on the Ukrainian Border, with Maxim Samorukov and Michael Kofman
Podcast
What is motivating Russia's recent military buildup on the Ukrainian border? On April 6, 2021, Maxim Samorukov and Michael Kofman joined Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Maxim Samorukov & Michael Kofman
-
Grooming Autocrats
Commentary
America’s increasing focus on rivalry with China ensures that U.S. Africa policy will continue to be viewed, at least in part, through a China lens....
By David Shullman & Patrick Quirk
