The space race was a critical determining factor in the Cold War. After its Sputnik miracle, the Soviets' loss of the race to the Moon undermined the international mystique of Communism and crushed the USSR's dreams of world domination. America's wildly successful Apollo program, by sharp contrast, brought America global glory and prestige—along with a plethora of "miracle technologies" that accelerated economic growth and strengthened US national security for half a century.
We are now embroiled with a brutal and autocratic Communist China in a new cold war and second, far more consequential, race to the Moon—whichever country seizes the commanding heights of the moon will have preferential access to vast lunar resources that will determine the quality of life on Earth and the political and moral character of the human diaspora as it advances into the solar system.
America should win Space Race 2.0 and is leading an international and commercial coalition to do so. Yet, Communist China is giving no ground even as its rockets soar above us. The clear risk: Timid and visionless policy makers in the White House and Congress may well surrender the ultimate high ground to the butchers of Beijing.
Greg Autry and Peter Navarro have been warning of this competition for more than a decade. Both were influential in the construction of America's triumphant space agenda during the Trump administration. In this book, they take you through the technology, economics, and history of this important topic and provide policy recommendations that will win the Space Race for America.
