Expert: US statements about the “space race” are short-sighted and unreasonable

Statements by US officials about the “space race” are short-sighted and unreasonable, and in general the wording “competition for space” is not correct, Deputy Chairman of the Expert Council for Improving Legislative Regulation of the Space Industry under the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Valentin Uvarov told Sputnik.

Earlier, the head of NASA, Bill Nelson, said that the United States does not consider Russia to be a participant in the new space race, and only Washington and Beijing are participating in it. He also noted that he would not want China to get to the South Pole of the Moon first.

“In my opinion, talking about space in terms of Formula 1 is short-sighted or at least unreasonable. With regard to American colleagues, this is understandable, since since the days of the Wild West they have been accustomed to thinking in terms of “Who will kick whom in the face” and there is nothing to be done, since this is a national trait that, in modern conditions, is changed to the euphonious “fight for leadership”. In principle, I disagree with those who speak about space in the categories of “who will overtake whom” or “who will grab a larger piece of the Moon,” Uvarov said.

He noted that the principle of outer space as the property of all mankind is fixed in the fundamental treaties on outer space. Thus, the Outer Space Treaty, which is the basis of international space law and signed by at least 110 countries, determines that the sovereignty of states cannot extend to space bodies, but only to space objects launched by them.

“Therefore, if we talk about the national achievements of individual countries in space, I would prefer to speak in terms of competitive partnership,” he said.

Uvarov also stressed that “competition for space” is an inaccurate wording.

“Space is endless. And if there’s anything to compete for, it’s for the technologies that make it possible to explore space and its resources. Including – for legal technologies. While some countries create favorable conditions for private initiative in space, in others, private traders have to overcome a lot of barriers to put their talent at the service of the national space economy,” he said.

“So it’s not about specific powers, and it’s not about who will be the first to build a village on the moon. The point is who has a stronger economy, more effective law, more advanced technologies in order to explore space without interference and receive bonuses for the earth’s economy from this, ”the expert added.

In 2022, China set its own national record with 64 space launches in 2022. The United States carried out 78 launches (60 of them – SpaceX), Russia has 21 launches. In 2019, acting head of the Pentagon Patrick Shanahan said that the successes of Russia and China impede US dominance in the space industry.