Introduction
India and China have heavily invested in their respective space programs since the 1960s, with both countries vying to become a leading space power. The space race between the United States and the Soviet Union had a major influence on China and India, leading the two Asian nations to make space development a priority. Both countries see space development as a means to achieve national development goals, maintain political power, increase national pride, and gain international respect. In recent years, the Asian space race has shifted away from an ideological superpower rivalry to focus on economic and national security benefits.
The Chinese Space Program
The Chinese space program is run by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), a civilian agency focused on defense-related technology. The CNSA does not oversee China’s astronauts. China’s manned space program is the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO), part of China’s Central Military Commission Equipment Development Department (CMDED).
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) sent astronauts into space for the first time in 2003 and has since conducted several other manned missions. The Chinese Manned Space Agency has been a source of great national pride for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), with President Xi Jinping closely associating himself with the program’s success. China has also developed a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that rivals the American Global Positioning System (GPS). In May 2023, the PRC announced several expansions to its current space program, including updates to its existing Tiangong space station and a plan to land astronauts on the moon by 2030.
China has also rapidly expanded its arsenal of space technology for military purposes, including anti-satellite (ASAT) technologies. The PRC’s expanding ASAT capabilities have drawn concern from American national security experts. Many Chinese satellites are directly run by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), which some American national security analysts fear could pose a security risk.
The Indian Space Program
India’s national space program is made up of the civilian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the military Defense Space Agency (DSA). The DSA oversees India’s ASAT technology, which the Indian space program demonstrated with a successful test in 2019. The founding of the DSA in 2018 has shifted India’s space focus towards military applications.
India has also seen a rise in space technology companies and currently contains over 140 space tech start-ups. In June 2020, Indian PM Narendra Modi publicly pushed for private sector involvement in space technology. In 2022, Indian space start-ups garnered around $120 million in private investments, with investments predicted to increase in the coming years.
India’s space sector has also benefited from US tensions with Russia and China, which are major providers of satellite launches that geopolitical tensions have closed off to American customers. A 2021 report from the American intelligence community labeled China’s space program a major security concern. NASA also plans to retire the International Space Station in 2031; China’s Tiangong space station remaining in orbit would allow the PRC significant influence in space, a major concern for the US intelligence community. In June 2023, India emerged as a new American ally in space by signing the Artemis Accords, a non-binding agreement with the United States to set space exploration and use norms. India has also announced its plans for an ISRO space station and sent a joint mission with the US to the International Space Station in July 2023.
