With a focus on China, the United States, and India, this book examines the economic ambitions of the second space race. The authors argue that space ambitions are informed by a combination of factors, including available resources, capability, elite preferences, and talent pool. The authors demonstrate how these influences affect the development of national space programs as well as policy and law.

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Goswami and Garretson are directly involved in space policy research, and it shows. Addressing a perceived emerging great-power competition in outer space, they target the policymaker audience. Exploring five cases—the US, China, India, Luxembourg, and the UAE—they trace the roles of myth, history, and strategic culture in shaping epistemic communities, space resource ambitions, and policies pursued within each state. Working from textual sources and interviews, they propose multiple scenarios for the emerging struggle, and spell out the ideological and strategic approach expected from each state. Hypotheticals run from the China-dominant to the India-dominant ("Space Raj") and include the US-dominant ("Protector of the Realm") scenario, as well as a number of bipolar and balancing options. The authors' expected configuration of world powers in 2060 is China (number one), US (two), and India (three), with a likely crisis before 2028 and a critical "fork in the road" circa 2047. The appendixes outline the authors' assumptions and theory for academic readers, discussing why they adopted their approach and how their work fits into a larger research project. The "scramble" for resources and key locations in space, they argue, will shape human politics for centuries. Required reading for students, faculty, and practitioners, this book may also attract a general readership. Highly recommended.

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[T]he text is massively footnoted and there’s a huge bibliography that more casual readers will find a gold mine for further reading. And all but the most knowledgeable readers will find their own command of the subject matter increased, if they’re willing to put in the time this book requires.