National Law University Odisha Political Science III

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY ODISSA

CUTTUCK

POLITICAL SCIENCE
PROJECT I

TOPIC: “Race for Space in the 21st Century”

B.A.L.LB 2020-2025
SEMESTER III

SUBMITTED BY: PRESENTED TO:

VAIBHAV KASHYAP (20BA113) Ms. SUVRASHREE PANDA
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

TABLE OF CONTENT

TABLE OF CONTENT.........................................................................................................................2
ACKNOWLEDMENT..........................................................................................................................3
RESEARCH METHADOLOGY..........................................................................................................4
OBJECTIVES.......................................................................................................................................4
SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS..............................................................................................................4
RESEARCH QUESTIONS...................................................................................................................4
CHAPTERS..........................................................................................................................................5
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................6
CHAPTER: 1 HISTROY OF SPACE RACE..................................................................................7
CHAPTER 2: THE BEGINNING OF 21ST CENTURY SPACE RACE..........................................8
CHAPTER 3: THE DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATION IN THE LIGHT OF 21ST
CENTURY SPACE RACE.................................................................................................................11
CHAPTER 4 INDIAN SPACE PROGRAM AND INTERNATIONAL REALTIONS...............15
CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................................18
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

ACKNOWLEDMENT

The world would have been impossible but for the mutual co-operation of the humans. We owe so
much to so many yet a simple gesture of gratitude has a profound impact. It attaches even more value
when that gratitude is owed to our teachers who have imparted us with the essential ‘lessons of life’.

I take this opportunity to humbly thank all those who have been instrumental during my research and
without whom this project would have been impossible.

The project was done on the topic the ‘Race for Space in the 21 st Century”. This topic was chosen
because recently there has been an increased interest in space exploration especially from the private
sector. There seems to be a beginning of the second space race.

Dr. Suvrashree Panda, an innovative, erudite and curious Professor of Political Science at our
University, NLUO has been the essential support system throughout this journey. She has always
believed in making the subject of Political Science more relevant and has tried to make it more
application based. She likes to extend day to day example to explain the concepts better. It is these
qualities of Dr. Panda that has helped us profoundly.

Next, the support extended by the library in providing all the essential reading material is exemplary.
Their support has indeed been very helpful. The library has been working tirelessly in this pandemic
to provide us remote access to all the essential databases and e journals.

The general support extended by the university in providing me with sufficient resources is also
graciously thanked.

My parents and their general support, especially financial, was something I could not do without.
They have been motivating us with those non-academic boosters that have their own benefits.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

RESEARCH METHADOLOGY

This is a work in pure research. The research work will be qualitative and will analyse concepts,
theories, hypothesis, texts and situations. It will rely only on secondary sources. It shall be descriptive
and explanatory in nature and will also follow a structured approach.

OBJECTIVES

The projects aim to fulfil the following objectives:

 To understand whether there is indeed the beginning of a second space race

 To understand the ramifications of the involvement of private players in the space exploration
 To understand the role played by this new space race in the foreign relations.
 To under the space race in the cold war era and find the similarities between the two.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

The project aims to achieve only the above-mentioned objectives and not to degrees from these. The
project will focus on the development of the movement in the whole world but will be focused to
India. The project is limited in the sense that it doesn’t aim to add to the existing system of beliefs and
only provide a structured approach to the present topic.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This paper aims to answer the following research questions:

 What is the history of the Space Race?

 Is there an impending 2nd Space Race?
 What influence will the involvement of private sector have in Space and consequently Indian
Foreign Policy?
 What are the suggestions for the India’s foreign policy changes with regard to this
development?
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

CHAPTERS

CHAPTER TOPIC
01 Introduction
02 History of Space Race
03 The Beginning of 21st Century Space Race
04 The Dynamics of International Relation In The Light Of 21st Century
Space Race
05 Conclusion
06 Bibliography
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

INTRODUCTION
With the increase in the number of space launches and satellites launches in the outer space,
the region of space which was once largely apolitical has become political and is being
increasingly being bombarded with important technologies that are being used for
communication and surveillance and is being used for businesses and governmental activities
at the same time. But with this dependence on instruments in the outer space, a bigger
question arises. What would happen if instruments in the outer space are destroyed? How
would we react if faced with a full-scale blackout of satellite communications?

The consequence of any such eventuality can be seen in both short term as well as long term.
In the short term, the destruction (mostly probably caused by a missile) will send thousand of
debris on the earth which would create a huge amount of hullaballoo. But in the longer term,
a complex political consequence will follow.

This paper attempt to understand the present dynamics of the space race which seems to have
begun again though in a much more radical manner then the previous one. It tries to
understand the actions that nation states might take to strengthen their national security as
well as to gain power and control over assets and to be ready to face a war in the outer space.

“The ways that a country's vital capabilities could be disarmed in such a setting are
investigated. In addition, this paper discusses our past and present political climate,
including which countries currently have these abilities and who the aggressive players
already are. Finally, it addresses promising research and space technology that could be
used to protect us from those interested in destroying the world's vital systems.”

The first chapter of the project attempt to understand the pas of the Space Race. It studies in
some details the events during the cold war that led to the start of the Space Race. It goes on
to describe the various stages of the space race and how eventually the first space race turned
from competition to cooperation. The second chapter explores in some details the event that
demonstrated the start of the second Space Race. It also explores the involvement of private
players in space and the role played by them in the second Space Race. The last chapter tries
to explore how the Second Space Race can be understood from the perspective of various
political theories.

I hope that I am able to cover all the above topic as comprehensively as possible and explore
these topics in an enriching way to do justice to the topic at hand.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

CHAPTER: 1 HISTROY OF SPACE RACE

We all are aware about the cold war which was an important theme in the contemporary
world politics. The cold war manifested itself in various forms 1. One of them was the Space
Race. Basically, this rivalry was the result of a major advancement in technology in the form
of rockets and spaceships. At the root of the Space Race was the will of demonstrating the
ability to send humans into space. This was somewhat a part of the Arms Race where the two
waring nations started stockpiling armament in the anticipation of an impending war.

The start of the Space Race of the 20 th century can be attributed to the American
announcement that they would be sending satellite into space for better missile connectivity. 2
This was followed, four days later by the Soviet announcement of a similar project. Thus, the
first major milestone in the Space Race was the launching of a satellite into space. But, as it
was later described, “Sputnik Shock”3 happened when the USSR won this initial challenge
when it spent Sputnik I into space on October 4th, 1957. This was again followed by a Soviet
success when USSR sent the first human Yuri Gagrin, into space. Thus, the USSR was
successful in showing to the world it lead in the race which the above achievement which
were a first for the country.

But the USA, led by President John F. Kennedy came up with a more ambitious goal of
"landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" 4. This became the
second frontier of the Space Race. The USA and USSR both started developing missiles that
were capable enough to send man to the moon. Kennedy's Moon landing goal was achieved
in July 1969, with the flight of Apollo 115. Even though USSR had achieved many significant
first, this event seemed to overshadow all the previous success incident of the USSR. The
USSR which was also involved in the mission of sending a Russian to the moon, dropped the
plan and instead started creating new frontier for the Sp ace Race. The USSR declared their
mission to launch an International Space Station and consequently a mission to the Mars and
the Venus. Meanwhile, the USA sent one manned mission after another to the moon.
Significantly, it also suffered many failures and loss of life and property.

1
“Cold War.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War.
2
“The Start of the Space Race.” Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us
history/postwarera/1950s-america/a/the-start-of-the-space-race.
3
“The Sputnik Shock.” The Globalist, Oct. 2007.
4
Deborah Byrd. “John F. Kennedy Commits US to a Moon Landing.” EarthSky, https://earthsky.org/space/this-
date-in-science-kennedy-speech-ignites-dreams-of-moon . Accessed 22 Oct. 2021.
5
“Apollo 11.” Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Apollo-11. Accessed 24 Oct. 2021.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

A period of stopping of the rivalry was achieved in April 1972 with the signing of an
agreement on a co-operative Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.6 This project showed that the space
race was now slowly turning into cooperation. This project was a success and in July 1972, a
US astronaut crew worked jointly with a Soviet cosmonaut crew. They also collectively
developed an international docking standard APAS-75. In fact, with the cold war itself
warning, the competition of the Space Race began being replaced with cooperation.

“The US and USSR began discussions on the peaceful uses of space as early as 1958,
presenting issues for debate to the United Nations, which created a Committee on the
Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in 1959. At the Political Committee of the UN General
Assembly, both the countries agreed to extend the international law to outer space and
cooperate in space exploration as one humanity. As a result, the UN created a “Treaty on
Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space
(today known as The Outer Space Treaty)”, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies,
which was signed by the United States and the USSR among other countries.”

Some of the important features of the Outer Space Treaty are:

 “The states would not place in orbit around the Earth or other celestial bodies any
nuclear weapons or objects carrying WMD.”
 “Countries are to avoid contaminating and harming space or celestial bodies.”
 “Space exploration is to be guided by "principles of cooperation and mutual
assistance," such as obliging astronauts to provide aid to one another if needed”.
 “Countries exploring space are responsible and liable for any damage their
activities may cause.”
 “Space and celestial bodies are exempt from national claims of ownership.”7

CHAPTER 2: THE BEGINNING OF 21ST CENTURY SPACE RACE

It is generally agreed that the space race of the 20 th century ended when Neil Armstrong set
foot on the earth. In fact, from the beginning of the 1970s and 1980s, the US funding into its
space program began to fade away.8 With numerous space accident and economic stress, the

6
Murray, Bruce, and Merton E. Davies. “Détente in Space.” Science, vol. 192, no. 4244, American Association
for the Advancement of Science, 1976, pp. 1067–74, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1742895.
7
Wehringer, Cameron K. “The Treaty on Outer Space.” American Bar Association Journal, vol. 54, no. 6,
American Bar Association, 1968, pp. 586–88, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25724439.
8
Scott Rouse. “We Have Lift-off: A Space Race Worthy for the 21st Century.” World Finance,
https://www.worldfinance.com/markets/a-space-race-for-the-21st-century . Accessed 22 Oct. 2021.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

focus started shifting from the human exploration to more useful deployment of technology
into space like the GPS. In fact, while the first 50 years was about sending humans to moon
and other extraterritorial planet, the next 50 years showed an utter distaste in sending humans
to space. The space agency's funding declined from a high of 4.4 percent of the federal
budget in 1966 to about 0.5 percent today. Also, the last manned mission to the Moon Apollo
17, took place in 1972. Thereafter, no one has stepped foot on moon.

But recently there has been a revival of the willingness to send humans into space and other
extra-territorial planets. NASA recently announced the Artemis Mission to moon 9. According
to NASA, the aim of the mission is to “land the first woman and first person of color on the
Moon, using innovative technologies to explore more of the lunar surface than ever
before. We will collaborate with commercial and international partners and establish the
first long-term presence on the Moon. Then, we will use what we learn on and around the
Moon to take the next giant leap: sending the first astronauts to Mars.” 10 This will be the
first mission after 50 years involving sending human to moon.

Some reports have suggested that China is also building capabilities to send human to moon.
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) in June revealed a roadmap for an
International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) to be developed jointly with Russia. The project
envisions crewed landings in the 2030s.

“India's 'Gaganyaan' mission is likely to be launched by the end of 2022 or early 2023 11,
Union minister Jitendra Singh said on Wednesday. The mission, originally scheduled for a
launch by 2022, was delayed due to coronavirus pandemic. It aims to launch a manned
mission in the Lower Earth Orbit”. This would be the first time that a developing nation
would send human to space independently.

But what is creating waves around the world when it comes to the 21 st space race is the
involvement of private companies in the race to the space. This interest of the private
companies and especially extremely rich private conglomerates is what is being termed as the
“Billionaire Space Race”. There are chiefly three billionaire who are involved in this race,
namely:

9
WHY WE ARE GOING TO THE MOON. https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/
10
Ibid. 9
11
“Gaganyaan Mission Likely to Be Launched by 2022 End or Early 2023: Jitendra Singh.” India Today, 16 Sept.
2021, https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/gaganyaan-mission-likely-to-be-launched-by-2022-end-or-
early-2023-jitendra-singh-1853299-2021-09-16.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

 Jeff Bezos, who is the founder of Blue Origin and is establishing an industrial base in
space.
 Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic/Virgin Orbit and space tourism, which
is a low-cost small orbital launcher, and also supports intercontinental suborbital
transit.
 Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX and is working on a project to colonize Mars.

All these private companies were founded around 2000-2005. They had started making
rockets around 2010. In fact, SpaceX successfully launched the first privately funded fully
liquid-fueled rocket to reach orbit. Also, thereafter, these companies started putting
commercial satellites into the orbit. In fact, the NASA has actively started taking help of
these private enterprises in the national space program.

One of the examples is the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) which is a human
spaceflight development program that is funded by the U.S. government and administered by
NASA. CCDev will result in US and international astronauts flying to the International Space
Station (ISS) on privately operated crew vehicles.

But its not only the NASA and USA which is promoting and partnering with private space
agencies. Other countries, though behind, are slowly and steadily catching up with the USA.
India, for instance, recently launched the Indian Space Association (ISpA), an industry body
of government and private companies which aims to supplement the Centre’s efforts in
commercial space exploration and space-based communication.

Initially, the private space industry was limited to the space-for-earth economy. In this
system, the private players role was confined to providing the national space agencies help in
systems made for the benefit of the people on earth like GPS etc. Today, however the space-
for-space economy as kicked in with private players providing services that are made for the
space itself. SpaceX’s recent achievements (in cooperation with NASA), as well as upcoming
efforts by Boeing, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic to put people in space sustainably and at
scale, mark the opening of a new chapter of spaceflight led by private firms.12

This shift from public to private offers unique potential and challenges. The public space
program was limited in that the program failed to demonstrate public interest and
consequently faced backlash. This downsized innovation and the space program started
12
https://hbr.org/2021/02/the-commercial-space-age-is-here
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

increasingly being focused on space-to-earth service which were tangible enough to be seen.
In contrast to governments, the private sector is eager to put people in space to pursue their
own personal interests, not the state’s — and then supply the demand they create. This is the
vision driving SpaceX, which in its first twenty years has entirely upended the rocket launch
industry, securing 60%13 of the global commercial launch market and building ever-larger
spacecraft designed to ferry passengers not just to the International Space Station (ISS), but
also to its own promised settlement on Mars.

But all these developments have their own geo-political significance and need to be
understood in the context of the international relations. In the following chapter the benefits
and downfalls of the entry of private players and other development of the 21 st century space
program.

CHAPTER 3: THE DYNAMICS OF INTERNATIONAL RELATION IN THE

LIGHT OF 21ST CENTURY SPACE RACE

A small sub-theme of International Relations is what is popularly termed as “Astro Politics”

or “Politics of Outer Space”. It includes space treaties, law in space, international cooperation
and conflict in space exploration, international economics and the hypothetical political
impact of any contact with extra-terrestrial intelligence.

“According to Walter McDougall, at least four major realms have been affected by the
dynamics of the space age. They are: (1) international politics, (2) the political role of
science and scientists, (3) the relationship of the state to technological change, and (4)
political culture and values in nations of high technology.”14

Even before the Space Age began in earnest in the 1950s, there was huge interest in the
development of technologies to explore the outer space, especially in the USSR and the USA.
Since, it was a period of the cold war, the initial fear was that the outer space was prone to
militarization. This gave rise to the politics surrounding the space. Even before the Sputnik I
was launched, USA know that USSR was on the verge of an important breakthrough in
space. State and society in the United States were thrown into chaos by Sputnik, and

13
Matt Weinzierl, and Mehak Sarang. “The Commercial Space Age Is Here.” Harward Business Review, Feb.
2021, https://hbr.org/2021/02/the-commercial-space-age-is-here.
14
Jill Stuart. Exploring the Relationship Between Outer Space and World Politics: English School and Regime
Theory Perspectives. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/2979/1/U615931.pdf.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

Eisenhower struggled to find a means to match the Soviet effort in space without sacrificing
the essence of democracy: the abiding principles of liberalism. The administration was
burdened with making crucial decisions like whether the space should be used for military
purposes or should it be used only for commercial purposes. This led to grand legislative
debates about the space administration. In fact, even though USA maintained peaceful
utilization of the outer space but itself developed and deployed reconnaissance satellites.

The Second Space Race is chiefly a competition between the People’s Republic of China and
the United States of America. The kind point of this space rivalry is the exploration of moon.
But it is not limited only to the exploration of the moon and involves the race to deploy
surveillance satellites into space, and exploration of celestial bodies beyond moon. These
rivalries between the countries deserves special investigation. The present race marks the
departure of the countries from space cooperation to again space competition.

Who are the main actors in this second space race, though? Some of the people are well-
known. Nasa, the US government organisation responsible for the Apollo Moon missions as
well as the space shuttle, continues to study our solar system, but its budget is a quarter of
what it was in the 1960s, and it is now unable to put a human into orbit. As a result, both
President Obama and President Trump have begun to give commercial space ventures
credibility.

Russia keeps its old Soyuz rockets in operation as a type of flying taxi service to the
International Space Station, which will be 30 years old next year. Its bigger fantasies of
rockets delivering the red star to distant worlds fade and rust in far-flung former satellite
nations of the USSR's cosmodromes.

Other nations still see space exploration as an expression of national pride and ambition.

With the Shenzhou programme, China, the world's second largest economy, entered the age
of manned space travel in 2003. China plans to start building its first space station next year
and hopes to land men (and women) on the Moon within the next 15 years.

India also employs space technology to show off its growing power. While the world's
seventh largest economy has yet to commit to manned space flight, its rockets have
successfully launched scores of satellites into orbit, resulting in a ten-million-dollar
commercial space programme.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

It's fair to argue that China and India's space aspirations haven't piqued the world's interest
much outside of those two countries. Nonetheless, there is a renewed feeling of enthusiasm
about space and its promise.

But more than these traditional players, Private Players have started playing an increasingly
active role. SpaceX founded by Elon Musk has send numerous flights to space and has
recently started sending humans to space as well. Other private players, not just from
America both other countries as well are increasingly becoming active in space. The Space
Laws are unclear about the involvement of private players. In the following lines, the author
would try to explain this new race for space with the help of various political theories.

Liberal Internationalism

Liberal Internationalism means that the space can be better harmonized through the
cooperation between the various state parties.15 It believes that greater progress will be
achieved in space if the various nation state cooperates with each other for their mutual
benefit. In general, liberal internationalists regard violence as the policy of last resort,
advocate diplomacy and multilateralism as the most-appropriate strategies for states to
pursue, and tend to champion supranational political structures (such as the European Union)
and international organizations (especially the United Nations).

From a liberal internationalist perspective, the renewed focus on the exploration of space
would not be viewed as a new rivalry between nation states. Rather the fact that there has
been not direct or even remote confrontation between the various space agencies would serve
to strengthen the point that the exploration of space is being done in a peaceful manner.

Realism

Realism is a way of thinking about and doing international politics. It stresses the role of the
nation-state and assumes that all nations are driven by national interests, or at the very least,
national goals disguised as moral concerns.

The national interest is broad and straightforward to define at its most basic level: all nations
desire to maintain their political autonomy and geographical integrity. National interests, on
the other hand, may assume diverse shapes once these two interests have been guaranteed.
Some states may have an interest in securing more resources or land; other states may wish to

15
Paris, Roland. “Peacebuilding and the Limits of Liberal Internationalism.” International Security, vol. 22, no.
2, The MIT Press, 1997, pp. 54–89, https://doi.org/10.2307/2539367.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

expand their own political or economic systems into other areas; some states may merely
wish to be left alone.

However, the national interest must be understood in terms of power in general. Because it
may be defined in terms of military, economic, political, diplomatic, or even cultural
resources, national power has an absolute definition. For a realist, however, power is largely a
relative term: can a state defend itself against the might of another state? Is it possible for a
state to compel another state to modify its policies?

From a realistic point of view, the present Space Race is the manifestation of the desire of the
nation states to dominate the outer space. In geopolitics, this desire is manifested by
dominance over a particular region chiefly for the purposes of security. The launch of geo-
satellites like NaVIC by India is a perfect example of such regional hegemony in space. The
exploration of the outer space present opportunities that have great economic value.
Therefore, claims like making a home at moon or mining the moon for its mineral can be
viewed as the willingness to dominate the moon in the distant future. Or in the short term
these resources can be monetized to increase geo-political influence on the earth. Also, the
building of International Space Stations is an attempt to dominate the outer space in some
manner. The various scientific experiments happening on the moon is also a race to acquire
greater knowledge of the outer space.

Constructivism

Constructivism sees the world, and what we can know about the world, as socially
constructed. Constructivists argue that agency and structure are mutually constituted,
which implies that structures influence agency and that agency influences structures. 16
Agency can be understood as the ability of someone to act, whereas structure refers to the
international system that consists of material and ideational elements 17. For Instance, a
constructivist in USA would not be afraid with nuclear weapon in UK rather he would be
afraid with nuclear weapons in North Korea because the social fact when taken into
consideration makes it highly improbable that UK would attack USA with a nuclear weapon.
Thus, Constructivism challenges the assumption of rationality shared by liberal
internationalism and realism by conceiving of national decision-makers as relational

16
Gadanidis, George. “Deconstructing Constructivism.” The Mathematics Teacher, vol. 87, no. 2, National
Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1994, pp. 91–97, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27968738.
17
Sarina Theys. “Introducing Constructivism in International Relations Theory.” E International Relations,
https://www.e-ir.info/2018/02/23/introducing-constructivism-in-international-relations-theory/.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

identities and relatively stable, role-specific expectations based upon shared understandings
and beliefs.

From a constructivist perspective, the present space race will neither be seen as a cooperation
or a competition. Rather it will be seen in the context of the present social reality. A
constructivist might say that the present space race is the result of miscommunication
between the various nation states. If the flow of information is improved, then the
competition will end. Constructivists find reason for optimism, however, in that long term
diplomatic communication and understandings will turn the nation states away from
competition and toward cooperation.

Thus, different political theories help explain the present space race in different manner but
none of them deny the existence of the same and it is therefore, essential that political
scientists keep an eye on the developments in the outer space since the same can have huge
ramification in the present world.

CHAPTER 4 INDIAN SPACE PROGRAM AND INTERNATIONAL

REALTIONS
The Indian Space Program is separated into three categories. The first stage began in the
1960s with the establishment of an administrative framework and the acquisition of basic
rocket operations such as sounding rockets, which deliver light payloads such as scientific
experiments into and beyond the atmosphere . 3 Low-tech space operations began in the early
1960s, and the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) was established in 1969 to
coordinate these activities. The Indian Department of Space (DoS) was established in 1972.

The second phase of India's space programme began in the mid-1980s, and it emphasised
larger, more powerful, and mission-specific systems. The PSLV, which was used to launch
the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite, and its successor, the GSLV, which was used to
launch the Indian National Satellite (INSAT), a meteorology and telecommunications
platform, were both built during this period. Through the development of such GEO
capability, India's space programme has advanced from its developing stages and joined the
ranks of the world's five most advanced space agencies, with the PSLV beginning operational
launches in 1997 after three prior demonstration flights and the GSLV making its first flight
in 2001.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

The third stage of India’s space program began around 2014-15, when the ISRO started
commercializing its operations and started launching commercial satellites into space.
Recently, PM Modi announced the new commercial arm of the ISRO, New Space India
Limited. NSIL will act as an aggregator for all space related activities in industry and develop
private entrepreneurship in space related technologies.

India's space programme was meant to play a vital role in a broader national policy of
planned socio-economic development when it was first envisioned in the 1960s.
Technological advancements promised to allow countries to skip conventional stages of
development and transition quickly to an industrial and post-industrial civilization at the time.
Satellite communications, educational television programmes, meteorology, and natural
resource assessment and management were and continue to be top priorities for India's space
programme. Strong political motivations have also motivated India's space programme. It
was designed to represent India's technological achievements and elevate New Delhi's
worldwide standing, particularly among the non-aligned nations.

By the beginning of the 21st century and the successful testing of Pokhran I , India’s presence
in space was firmly established. While India continued to state that the test was for peaceful
purposes, it encountered opposition from many quarters. In fact, it had to face international
backlash. The first response was outright condemnation issued from every multilateral
platform. But in a counter-intuitive action, then foreign minister Jaswant Singh and US
deputy secretary Strobe Talbott began a conversation — that led to a whole new relationship
being built between US and India. As Raja Mohan, director Carnegie India says, the tests
"were needed to end India’s international isolation. They provided the basis for reconciliation
with the global nuclear order, and redefined our relationship with the US." Former NSA,
Shivashankar Menon believes the tests "shook loose our relations with all major powers, US,
China, even Pakistan. The world had got used to a certain kind of India. That was challenged,
successfully." Former foreign secretary S. Jaishankar says the tests created one of the pre-
requisites for India's aspiration to become a leading power. "The actions we took 20 years
ago ensured our national security. Our responsible record and subsequent engagements
ensured global understanding of our policies. That is also shown by our nuclear
collaborations around the world."
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

Nevertheless, India never tested another nuclear weapon ever again. In the beginning of the
21st century, India’s focus shifted to exploring the moon with its Gaganyan Missions which
swiftly attracted world attention towards India’s technical advancement. Other missions like
the Mangalyan further helped strengthen India’s position in space. Other feats like launching
and deploying 104 satellites at a time were also commendable 18. Recently, India just like the
US and China has ventured into private space programs.

In spite of the major achievement and a quest to achieve as much as other countries, the
Indian space program has never come into a direct confrontation with any other country.
Rather, it has had a cooperative spirit with the other space agencies of the world.

“Technological capacity-based diplomacy may very well hold the key to deepening
relationships both regionally and internationally for India. India’s space prowess must be
effectively used as a tool in diplomacy and foreign policy not only for regional capacity
building and collaboration with developing nations but also for enhancing India’s role in a
global framework”19.

18
“ISRO Sends 104 Satellites in One Go, Breaks Russia’s Record.” Economic Times,
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/science/isro-sends-104-satellites-in-one-go-breaks-russias-
record/articleshow/57159365.cms?from=mdr.
19
NARAYAN PRASAD NAGENDRA. “Space as a tool in Indian foreign policy & diplomacy.” ORF,
https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/space-as-a-tool-in-indian-foreign-policy-diplomacy/.
National Law University Odisha Political Science III

CONCLUSION
From the discussion in the above lines, it is clear that the Second Space Race has begun. In
fact, the present space race has the potential to disrupt nation states in ways that were not
possible in the first space race. While the first space race was an attempt to demonstrate the
strengths of a country in technological advancement, the present space race is more in line
with the will to increase the security and safety of nation states.

In the above project, we have had the opportunity to understand how the space race of the
1960s and 1970s began and how eventually it ended in cooperation. We also explore the
events of the past few years to understand how a Second Space Race is just beginning. And
finally, these events are seen from the lens of a political science student.

I hope that this piece of research will help me in my future endeavours. I have tried to make
this project as insightful and comprehensive as possible.