Space Race With China? (New America Foundation)

Before China carried out an anti-satellite test in January 2007, some U.S. policy-makers, including NASA Administrator Michael Griffin and the U.S. House China Working Group, advocated greater cooperation between the United States and China in space. After the test, which created a massive cloud of space debris that angered international space professionals and alarmed the American public, increased references to U.S.-China competition and hints of a new space race drowned out calls for cooperation.

Using the experience they gained from visiting China several times in the last eight months, analysts Jeffrey Lewis and Gregory Kulacki will evaluate the costs and benefits of cooperation and competition between the United States and China in light of the history of Chinese interest in ASAT technology and an assessment of China's growing aerospace industry.