China has parlayed its “Space Silk Road” initiative into a network of 80 international infrastructure projects by weaving its comms tech, ground infrastructure, and satellite manufacturing capabilities into worldwide space programs, according to a new report.
The finding is part of a report released today by the Commercial Space Federation (CSF). The federation commissioned Arizona State University’s Jonathan Roll to piece together the trickle of public reports and provide a comprehensive picture of China’s space program.
“Redshift: The Acceleration of China’s Commercial and Civil Space Enterprise and the Challenge to America” urges America to step it up—or risk losing in the space diplomacy race.
“There’s still a window where this trend of the map filling up for the Space Silk Road can be reversed,” Roll told Payload. “If they have an alternative option [with the US] that is meaningful for them, I think they would be happy to shift focus.”
Speed round: Here are some other top takeaways from the report:
- China’s launch operations are gaining momentum, and Beijing could surpass the US as the global launch leader if trends continue and American infrastructure investment lags.
- US allies are already turning to the Tiangong space station for scientific research in orbit, as the ISS nears its expected decommission date in the 2030s.
- China is hitting deadlines for its proposed space science missions, including a crewed Moon mission and bringing the first Martian samples to Earth.
One thing not highlighted in the report is how China’s success in orbit is driving excitement among Chinese citizens, Roll said. China is on the cusp of their first citizen to land on the Moon, a handshake in orbit between international spacefarers, the launch and landing of commercial rockets—all things that spurred generations of Americans to enter the sector. It’s reasonable to imagine that those milestones would have a similar effect in China.
What to do? CSF has a detailed rollout plan for the report, which is expected to be updated annually, said CSF chief Dave Cavossa. That includes a launch event on Capitol Hill today, policy briefings for Congressional and administration staff, and a series of six events over the next several months—each focusing on one area of the report.
The goal is to share the report’s recommendations, including:
- Investing in launch infrastructure and spaceports at a federal level to maintain global launch leadership;
- Fully using the ISS through its planned end of life (which runs counter to the Trump administration’s proposal to reduce crew size and scientific operations to wind down for the station’s retirement);
- Improving regulations for launch and reentry;
- Distributing SSA data for free to global partners;
- Working with the commercial sector for space science missions.
