The modern space race, also commonly referred to as the "new space race", is a 21st-century competition between the United States and China to lay claims on the Moon, Mars, and beyond. It has origins dating back to the late 1950s and to the original Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, two Cold War rivals. The modern space race has encouraged a renewed interest in space exploration and human spaceflight, as well as also grown concerns of the Chinese becoming the dominant space power within the next two decades.^[1][2][3]

Following the end of NASA's Space Shuttle and Constellation programs, interest in American space exploration and human spaceflight waned.^[4] With no way to get to space, NASA was effectively grounded and had to heavily rely on and contract private spaceflight companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin to carry cargo and astronauts to and from the International Space Station on their behalf.^[5][6] Amidst this, China's space program took off and made great advancements in spaceflight over the following years – with the development of its Chang'e program and Tiangong space station.^[7][8] China's rapid development in space-related activities sparked concerns across the world that it would soon overtake NASA and the U.S. to become the dominant power in space.^[9][10]

The United States Congress, prompted by the sudden rise in China's space program and its use of military technology in space, signed the Wolf Amendment in 2011 to prohibit NASA and the CNSA from bilaterally working or cooperating together.^[11][12] Further space directives signed over the next couple of years also called for NASA to ramp up development of its' Space Launch System and the Artemis program following a plague of funding and financial issues.^[13][14] Russia, a key U.S. rival, sought to align themselves with and collaborate with the Chinese in the new space race.^[15][16] Similarly, NASA established the Artemis Accords in a US-led international coalition for cooperation in the civil exploration and peaceful use of the Moon, Mars, and other astronomical objects.^[17] The establishment of the Artemis Accords allowed for the development of the Artemis program, which kick-started in November 2022 off the back of a successful Artemis 1 mission.^[18] NASA chief Bill Nelson a few months later in January remarked that, "it is a fact: we're in a space race" – going on to warn how China could claim the Moon and monopolize its' resource-rich areas.^[19][20]

The earliest origins of the modern space race date back to the late 1950s wherein the China's space program was established, albeit with limited success.^[21] China's development was slow with its first monumental breakthrough through its space program being on July 19, 1964, through the launch of its first biological experiment to the edge of space – a rocket carrying eight white mice.^[22] A few years later, China's Mao Zedong approved Project 714, which called for the development of a human space capsule named "Shuguang 1". The project was short-lived, however, and collapsed following the Cultural Revolution in 1976.^[23] In 1970, the Chinese successfully launched its' first Long March rocket,^[10] and continued development of them going into the 1980s following success with its Long March 1 rocket. Their next generation Long March 2 rocket would go on to launch successfully in its first flight in 1975. The Chinese's success which they had experienced with their rockets did not go unnoticed, with the United States contracting China to launch satellites into space using their Long March 3 rocket in 1986^[24] – and then again in 1988.^[25] The same year, China's Deng Xiaoping approved Project 863, which called for the development of a Chinese crewed spacecraft. The "863" project was chronicled as a pivotal moment in the country's space ambitions.^[22]

During the 1950s and 1960s, the advent of the original Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviets brought about the rapid development of space-related technologies, including satellites and rockets.^[26] While the U.S. made drastic strides through the development of its Gemini, Mercury, and Apollo programs,^[27] the Soviets launched the first human and first satellite into space as well as various probes to explore the Moon and the Solar System.^[28] As the Space Race began to ramp down by the 1970s and 1980s via a period of détente,^[29] NASA had pulled the plug on its' Apollo program – essentially "rocketing" away from the Moon for over 50 years – to pursue the Space Shuttle.^[30]

Following the approval of project 863, the Chinese amped up funding in order to get development of its' crewed spacecraft underway.^[31] In the meantime however, the Chinese continued development on its' Long March rockets, with the continued use of its' Long March 2C and 3, and the inaugural flight of its' Long March 4A in 1988.^[32] As the Chinese saw prolonged success with rockets, development on project 863 ensued and pushed forward.^[33] Meanwhile, the United States, picking up the pieces from the 1986 Space Shuttle disaster, pushed ahead with their Discovery, Atlantis, and Challenger spacecrafts to successfully launch astronauts into low earth orbit once again in 1988 following nearly 3 years on hiatus.^[34] In 1990, NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope aboard its Space Shuttle – an immense task as the telescope later turned to be key for numerous astronomical discoveries and gave NASA "a gateway into the stars".^[35] Although it wasn't retired, the Hubble was still nevertheless later overshadowed by its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope in late 2021.^[36][37]

The Chinese during this time continued to expand its branch of rockets with the entrance of the Long March 2E on July 16, 1990.^[38] The 2E provided the "basis" for Chinese human spaceflight.^[32] In addition, the first foreign payload on a Chinese rocket – the AsiaSat 1 – was launched aboard a Long March 3 on April 7, 1990.^[39] In the years following, Chinese space ambitions grew large with China's Jiang Zemin approving "project 921", a plan that called for the development of a crewed Chinese space station by 2020.^[22][40]

China's space program suffered major setbacks from 1992 to 1996, mainly through its faulty Long March 2E rocket.^[41] The 2E was later identified to have been designed with a defective payload fairing, which collapsed when faced with the rocket's excessive vibration.^[42] In the 2E's seven launches over a 6-year long period, it destroyed the Optus B2 and Apstar 2 satellites, while also damaging the AsiaSat 2.^[43] In addition to the 2E, China's Long March 3 and 3B also suffered severe setbacks. In 1996, a 3B carrying the Intelsat 708 satellite veered off course seconds after liftoff and crashed into a nearby village, destroying the satellite as well as killing 6 and injuring 57 people.^[22][44] A couple of months following the Xichang Disaster, China's Long March 3 also experienced a partial failure during the launch of Chinasat-7.^[45][46]

These failures sparked investigations into the matter, with the most notable being the Apstar 2 and Intelsat 708 investigations.^[43] However, great political controversy arose once United States companies began to participate in these investigations.^[47] In the Cox Report, the United States Congress accused Space Systems/Loral and Hughes Aircraft Company of transferring information that would improve the design of Chinese rockets and ballistic missiles.^[48] Following this, Congress "transferred export control responsibility for all commercial and non-commercial satellites" from the Commerce Department's Export Administration Regulations to the State Department's International Traffic in Arms Regulations in 1999.^[49][50] The shift turned to be very restrictive in terms of U.S. satellite components, with essentially this "embargo" having severe repercussions on the satellite launch industry.^[51] Many launches had to be shelved or postponed due to commercial payloads containing items of U.S. origin.^[52][53] For example, Chinasat-8, which was scheduled to launch in April 1999 aboard a Long March 3B, was placed in storage, sold to Singaporean company ProtoStar – and then finally launched aboard the European rocket Ariane 5 in 2008.^[54] This resulted in a massive loss in excess of $2.35 billion to foreign sales.^[51] Many European companies today are still afflicted with this problem, with many currently working to develop ways to replace U.S. satellite components.^[55]

Following major setbacks from 1992 to 1996, the faulty 2E was retired and therefore withdrawn from the market.^[32] This resulted in the Chinese making design changes to their rockets in order to improve the reliability of Long March rockets. Following the design changes, Long March rockets reliability increased drastically with their rockets experiencing no failures from August 1996 to August 2011.^[56] Moreover, in November 1999, Xiaoping and Zemin's visions for a crewed spacecraft and space station through the "863" and "921" projects finally came to fruition, with the first uncrewed launch of the Shenzhou spacecraft.^[57] The success of Shenzhou 1 was reassuring for the Chinese, and encouraged an influx in funding for the further development of the Shenzhou spacecraft, as well as project 921.^[58][59] In addition to the development of the Shenzhou spacecraft, the Long March "2F" was developed as well.^[60] The 2F was designed with the purpose of launching the Shenzhou into LEO as part of project 921's mission of creating a space station.^[61] Over the following years, the duo of the 2F and the Shenzhou would continue to be perfected until hard work finally bore fruit through the successful launch of Shenzhou 5 on October 15, 2003. Through the success of this launch, China made history by placing the first Chinese astronaut – Yang Liwei – into orbit.^[62] This feat also made China only the third country, behind the U.S. and Russia, to successfully launch an astronaut into space.^[63]

In contrast, however, NASA had experienced a repeat of the disaster that unfolded in 1986, when the Space Shuttle Columbia broke up as it returned to Earth – killing all seven astronauts.^[64] Only a few years prior, NASA embarked on an truly international endeavor to launch and expand the International Space Station, an architectural marvel which "showcased humanity's ingenuity" and had contributed to many scientific discoveries.^[65][66] Nevertheless, in the aftermath of the disaster, NASA would not fly its Space Shuttle again until July 2006 – with the successful launch of its STS-121 mission.^[67] Following this, NASA returned the Space Shuttle back to its original 7 missions-a-year schedule.^[64]

It is time for America to take the next steps. Today I announce a new plan to explore space and extend a human presence across our solar system. We will begin the effort quickly, using existing programs and personnel. We'll make steady progress, one mission, one voyage, one landing at a time.

— George W. Bush,
Unveiling of a new plan for space exploration, January 14, 2004^[68]

On January 14, 2004, amid the aftermath of the Columbia disaster, president George W. Bush unveiled a new plan for space exploration at NASA's headquarters.^[69] This "plan" called for the completion of the International Space Station by 2010 and a goal of returning to the Moon by 2020. By returning to the Moon, Bush claimed that it would act as a launching pad for Mars.^[70] Thus, the Constellation program was established with the goal of fulfilling Bush's plan. Bush also announced plans to retire the Space Shuttle program^[71][72] and NASA, therefore, began to develop a new crewed launch vehicle called the Ares I, as well as a new crewed capsule called the Orion spacecraft under the Constellation program.^[73]

Meanwhile, the Chinese were making great progress with their 863 and 912 projects, mostly in part due to the establishment of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program in 2003.^[74] The establishment of the program led to key breakthroughs in lunar exploration and also led to the development of China's Chang'e program.^[75] In addition, China's manned space program was also in full flow with its second manned mission, Shenzhou 6, successfully launching in October 2005.^[76] By mid–2006, China had set up deep space network facilities all around the country to support its Chang'e 1 mission and had its next manned missions, Shenzhou 7 and Shenzhou 8 tentatively planned for 2008 and sometime between 2009 and 2011 respectively.^[77][78] In addition, Chinese plans of a space station as a part of the 921 project also came to light, with it being linked to the Shenzhou 8 mission. The station's design was similar to that of the Soviet's Salyut space stations.^[79]

In 2008, problems with NASA's Constellation program arose, with reports conducted by the Government Accountability Office stating that the program had "several critical issues" and that NASA's new Ares spacecraft may not work as intended and may never actually reach orbit.^[80] NASA, however, remained optimistic of the program, saying that they had mitigation practices in place for the Ares.^[81][82] Many politicians, however, remained skeptical of the program. As a result, funding slowed and NASA's budget was reduced to $17 billion, about 0.57% of the federal budget, and about a 25% decrease from 2000.^[83] In 2009, the Augustine Committee concluded that the program was massively underfunded and would need to have great budget increases for the program to even get beyond low Earth orbit.^[84][85] Following the investigation, the Obama administration scrapped the Constellation program on the grounds of it being "over-budget" and "behind schedule".^[86] Following the scrubbing of the program, Obama began to push for a revamp at NASA, all the while outlining his "vision" for the privatization of manned spaceflight and flights to Mars.^[87][88] Obama also announced what he called the "Asteroid Redirect Mission" as a "stepping stone" to Mars.^[89] In lieu of this, a new plan was established that pledged adequate funding for the development of a spacecraft capable of deep space exploration by 2025 and a Mars mission by 2030.^[90] As such, following some pushback from Congress, the Ares V – developed under Constellation – was redirected to support Obama's new space policy.^[91][92]

In September 2011, NASA unveiled its new rocket for deep space missions.^[93] Called the "Space Launch System", or "SLS", the rocket would utilize technology from the Space Shuttle and the former Constellation program's Ares V.^[94][95] Projected to cost roughly $18 billion,^[96][97] the rocket was touted to serve as a replacement for the Space Shuttle^[98] (as was the former Ares V^[99]), which flew its final flight, the STS-135 mission, in July 2011.^[100] By late 2012 and early 2013, despite being mired with various problems within its development, SLS was still on track to hit its original target launch date of sometime in 2017.^[101][102] By 2014, NASA had fully committed to SLS - with nearly $7 billion in spending costs,^[103] and SLS passing numerous "critical design reviews".^[104][105] Also by this time, NASA had also successfully launched its Orion spacecraft aboard a Delta IV Heavy as part of a greater flight test for SLS.^[106] However, NASA's timeline had shifted back from an original 2017 launch date to now a November 2018 launch date, with NASA citing that they wanted to factor in previously "unforeseen engineering challenges".^[103] The delay sparked concerns in Congress about other potential delays and cost overruns.^[107]

The unveiling of SLS came just a few months after the retiring of the Space Shuttle program on July 21, 2011.^[108][109] Following its retirement, concerns and an aura of uncertainty were raised regarding NASA's future and about how NASA would be able to get astronauts into orbit and to the ISS.^[110] The unveiling also came a few months after the passing of the Wolf Amendment in Congress, which essentially had placed a "speed bump" and hindered possible cooperation between NASA and China in space.^[111] While intended to "slow" China down in the field of spaceflight, the bill was met with criticism from scientists and engineers, who said that the amendment proves "contrary to its intents and increases the risks of war in space" and isn't helpful to either the U.S. or China.^[112][113] It came after a series of cyber attacks linked to China, as well as the fast growth of China's space program.^[114]

As NASA worked to restore American access to space via the commercialization of human spaceflight and the development of SLS,^{[115][116][117]} China pursued its lunar Chang'e program and successfully landed a rover on the Moon's surface.^[118] By early 2015, China had also carried out various missions and objectives within Earth's orbit, including the deployment and docking of their first manned spacelab, Tiangong-1,^[119] and the launch of Shenzhou 9, making Liu Yang the first Chinese woman in space.^[120] Over the following year heading into 2017, plans were unveiled detailing China's lunar ambitions and its desire to place Chinese taikonauts on the Moon by 2040.^[121] This was especially prevalent as it came following the success of China's Chang'e program and China's sparking of a race to mine precious resources from the Moon, including water, helium-3, and metal.^[122][123]

Meanwhile, as NASA sought to meet their November 2018 launch date for SLS and Orion, problems arose that clouded whether the timeline set forth was achievable or not.^[124] A July 2015 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that SLS was running short on schedule margin as it worked to have it ready for flight.^[125] This margin would further shrink over the coming years, as when NASA announced Orion had passed its KDP-C review in September 2015, it meant they had set forth an April 2023 launch date for its first crewed mission – around two years behind previous estimates.^[126][124] Amidst a shrinking margin, NASA was also faced with financial concerns, potentially affecting its ability to build payloads for SLS.^[127] Nevertheless, NASA was still scheduled to make the November 2018 launch date despite these issues.^[128] An appearance of a tornado at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, though, upended the timeline with an estimated half of NASA's facilities damaged.^[129][130] Despite efforts by NASA to repair its facilities and infrastructure as quickly as possible, reports released by the NASA Office of Inspector General and the GAO found that the program was effectively out of cost and schedule margin, ultimately leading to the delay of the first flight to sometime in 2019 – or perhaps even into 2020.^[131][132]

With delays hindering NASA’s efforts to launch SLS, China had successfully replaced the aging Tiangong-1 with their newer Tiangong-2 and had managed to grow their lunar and manned space programs at a scale that surprised researchers and scientists from across the globe.^{[133][134][135]} Reports also indicated that China was now developing and testing directed-energy and jamming technologies.^[136] Concerns were therefore starting to be raised regarding China coming around to one day rivaling and even possibly surpassing the U.S. in space.^[137][136]

In January 2018, the Trump administration made good on promises of putting in place its "America First" trade policy by imposing tariffs on select goods that were imported in from China.^[138][139] Over the following months, Trump would impose further tariffs on a wider variety of Chinese goods over alleged "unfair trading practices," leading to retaliation from the Chinese and the imposing of their own tariffs on American goods, escalating tensions and the United States' trade war with China.^{[140][141][142]} Amdist heightening tensions and tariffs worth over $200 billion by September,^[143][144] China in 2018 performed more orbital launches than any other country and also had achieved humanity's first soft landing on the far side of the Moon.^[145][146] As a result of the trade war, China accelerated development of domestic supply chains for, among other purposes, increased self-reliance in the manufacturing of Chinese rockets and engines.^[147][148] This accelerated development fostered innovation within China's aerospace program and strengthened China's long-term capabilities in space.^[149]

Threatened by advancements made by China in space,^[150][151] the Trump administration sought to counter China's growing presence in space by touting plans to establish the United States Space Force in August 2018;^[152] the United States Space Command was established under the Department of Defense shortly afterwards in December.^[153] The plan's unveiling came approximately eight and a half months after Trump signed Space Policy Directive-1, formally establishing the Artemis program.^[154] Signed following a recommendation from the recently reestablished National Space Council chaired by Vice President Mike Pence,^[155] it replaced a paragraph within Obama's 2010 space policy that effectively eliminated any presence of asteroids, pushed for a return to the moon by the 2020s, spurred development of the Lunar Gateway, and put a focus on the future exploration of Mars.^[156][157]

Looking to lower costs and foster innovation and progress, NASA looked to open up space to the private sector.^[158] This was done through the implementation of government contracts that were awarded to fund private space companies like Boeing, SpaceX and Blue Origin.^[159] Historically, private companies were contractors that played secondary roles in NASA missions.^[160] But as NASA faced growing budget constraints heading into the 21st century, the agency shifted from simply contracting companies to forming partnerships with them, giving companies more responsibilities and freedom.^[161][5] These partnerships were prevalent following the retiring of the Space Shuttle, as NASA had no viable way to transport cargo or astronauts to the ISS by themselves.^[162] In anticipation of this, NASA established two programs: the Commercial Resupply Services program (CRS) in 2008 and the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) in 2011.^[163][164] These programs funded private companies in the development of their own spacecrafts to transport cargo and crew to the ISS. Gradually and steadily, as companies developed and worked to get their spacecraft to orbit, launch costs fell thanks to private sector competition and the use of reusable launch vehicles.^[165][166] As a result, NASA was able to transport cargo and crew to the ISS at relatively low costs.^[167][168] NASA then decided to extend its public-private partnership model to its Artemis program, wherein it contracted companies to develop their own lunar landers and established the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.^[169]

China, following NASA's lead, decided to also fund private space companies via state subsidies in an effort to develop and foster their own private and military space industry.^[170][171] With over 100 companies created and billions of dollars in funding,^[172][173] China worked to lower its launch costs by developing and launching its own reusable launch vehicles.^[174][175] To this end, China began outsourcing manufacturing and launching capabilities to companies via government contracts.^[176]

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, NASA was forced to cancel or postpone many science campaigns and missions, as well as halt much of the production and testing that was being done for SLS and Orion.^[177][178] NASA had also implemented strict agency-wide telework restrictions,^[179] from which only projects deemed "mission critical" (e.g. the Mars 2020 mission^[180]) were excepted from.^[181] Many of these projects, such as the Perseverance rover, needed to adhere to a strict and specific timeline – hence its "mission critical" status.^[182] The pandemic affected private U.S. companies that collaborated with NASA, too, leading them to implement work restrictions while continuing to develop their crewed spacecraft under the CCP.^[183] SpaceX launched its first crewed flight aboard its Crew Dragon spacecraft on May 30, 2020, reestablishing independent U.S. access to space and ending years of reliance on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft.^[184][185] The launch also demonstrated the increased accessibility of space, a reflection of the shift towards a commercial launch environment.^[186][187] With SpaceX proving that they could effectively transport crew into space, it opened the doors to a larger audience of customers wanting to experience space.^[188][189] To this end, SpaceX launched the first all-civilian mission to the ISS in September 2021.^[190][191]