Study Shows Further U.S. Competitive Decline in Space

Parabolic Arc ^ | August 2, 2012 | Doug Messier

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The United States remains the top dog in space, but it is losing its competitive advantage as the nation’s space program undergoes a series of major transitions while other nations, in particular China, improve their space capabilities.

So says Futron’s 2012 Space Competitiveness Index, which was released on Wednesday. It’s the fifth anniversary edition of the report, and the fifth year in a row in which Futron has documented America’s declining lead in space.

What a fun read.

Perhaps to offset that depressingly familiar conclusion, Futron has spiced up the report by adding five emerging space powers to the 10 nations it normally analyzes. The additions include Argentina, Australia, Iran, South Africa and Ukraine. They join the usual suspects: United States, Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Canada, India, Brazil, Israel and South Korea.

.....The United States remains the overall leader in space competitiveness, but its relative position has declined for the fifth straight year, as other countries enhance their capabilities while the U.S. undergoes major transitions amid significant uncertainty.

....China performed a record number of launches in 2012, surpassing the United States for the first time, while increasing investment in technical education programs and civilian research institutes.

.....Iran has made faster progress than any other newly emergent space nation. The tenor of Iran’s space program—civilian or military—will hinge on geopolitics. Other international actors have substantial power to influence the future focus of the Iranian space program....

[ScottinVA]

We’re sliding into second-rate status on a lot of fronts. But take heart... we’ll talk about it a lot.

[Venturer]

Obama has been trying to turn us into a third world country since his first day in office.

He hates America, is Muslim and no more Christian than Ahmadinejhad.

[stuartcr]

I imagine the space program is really expensive.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Argentina, China ink space cooperation deal "BUENOS AIRES — China plans to build an antenna for deep space observation in Argentina's southern Patagonia region, Argentina's foreign ministry announced Wednesday.

The agreement -- between Argentina's space agency and China's agency for the control and tracking of satellites -- also defines more general "parameters for establishing earth-based installations," and creates a basis for future cooperation, the ministry said.

It emphasized the antenna is "a project of tremendous importance," which will permit Argentina "to develop interplanetary exploration activities, to study deep space and celestial bodies, to monitor and control satellites, and to acquire scientific data."........

Belarus [AND China] to help build space facility in Venezuela "Belarus will participate in the construction of the space base in the state of Aragua in Venezuela. The construction of that base is planned not to launch nuclear rockets, but to send into space scientific research satellites," the diplomat said at a press conference.

The space base will be just one of the projects that will be carried out by Venezuela, China and Belarus, Diaz Nuñez said.

"The satellites are being manufactured today in China but the agreement has already been reached for them to be assembled in Venezuela," Diaz Nuñez said.

The three partner countries will also build a power plant in the state of Barinas, a project valued at 900 million dollars.

The project will be financed by China, while Belarus will provide the technology."......

Ukraine, China discuss future cooperation in lunar program“.........Cooperation in the exploration of the Moon and Mars are among the promising cooperation areas of the new Ukrainian-Chinese cooperation program on the exploration and use of space for peaceful purposes for 2011-2015, which was signed in September 2010.

Adviser to the head of the State Space Agency of Ukraine (SSAU) Eduard Kuznetsov said earlier that Ukraine planned to implement a project called Selena in 2017 involving the launch of a small scientific satellite to fly around the Moon.

The lunar satellite will be developed by Dnipropetrovsk-based Pivdenne Design Bureau and will be equipped with the new Ukrainian Krechet upper stage. The satellite is planned to be launched with the help of the Russian-Ukrainian Dnepr rocket.

July 30, 2012 - Lunar Mission Expected Next Year For China 2013 lander.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

NASA administrator Bolden says we can't cut it, we can't always be number one: Here

Obama's Science and Technology Czar, John P. Holdren, says the world is better when other countries pull up and level the playing field; that America can't always be number one.

To this administration, the de-development of the United States (as Czar John P. Holdren subscribes too and applauds) is a positive thing.

[sam_paine]

These guys are just trying to sell their report with the most dramatic headlines.

This "news report on a press release marketing a report" doesn't say whether they include the PRIVATE SPACE INDUSTRY into the "USA" column or is it -just- NASA. If just NASA, then all conservatives should be happy to see it shifting to private industry.

Does the USA column include USAF Space Command? NSA launches?

You can fill out a form to expand their commercial mailing list and find out! =)

Space registry at the end of the 21st century should look like the naval registry at the end of the 20th.

The US Naval presence would technically be dwarfed by Chinese registered cargo vessels on the high seas...but that doesn't mean the Chinese command the sea lanes by a longshot. Or even a Long March! =)

When you select Buy Now, you will be taken to Futron's PayPal Check-Out site. On the left side of the page, just above the credit card symbols, you will find an option to check out without having a PayPal account.
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Full Report Single User Version	Electronic PDF of full 150-page report strictly for individual use	$299
Full Report Internal Multiple User Version (Up to 25 users)	Electronic PDF of full 150-page report to be shared among up to 25 users within the purchasing organization. Includes two hardcopies of the report for your library.	$999
Space Competitiveness Index Data Set	Microsoft Excel workbook featuring more than 60 individual worksheets, including individual figures found in full report for easy cutting-and-pasting, as well as raw data used to compile the 50+ metrics analyzed in Futron's 2012 Space Competitiveness Index.	$1,999
Gold Package	1. Electronic PDF of full 150-page report for internal sharing among up to 25 users within purchasing organizations. 2. Three hardcopies of report 3. Space Competitiveness Index Data Set 4. Onsite or phone presentation with Q&A session	$2,499
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[Cincinatus' Wife]

What is your view on our space program?

Oh, and btw there’s private space and then there is subsidized space being billed as commercial space (P.T. Barnum Space) just to keep everyone ignorant while the U.S. national space program is dismantle (the playing field leveled).

[Notary Sojac]

As you and I have discussed before, the U.S. "space program" has shifted its focus since about the late '80s away from exploring space and towards maintaining a steady flow of Congressional pork to guarantee tenured jobs at NASA locations in Florida and Texas, and NASA's favored contractors (Lockheed, ATK Thiokol, Boeing).

No space projects that do not shovel significant tax dollars toward these sacred cows will receive more than minimal support. That's your problem, right there!!

[Notary Sojac]

If just NASA, then all conservatives should be happy to see it shifting to private industry.

Let me throw a hearty "amen!!" your way.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You’re looking at the symptoms.

The terminal disease is that we have NO STATED program to BUILD outward.

[sam_paine]

What do you have against PT Barnum?

Seriously! Why use him as a derisive example? He was successful marketing genius and businessman who created products that people wanted!

What were the first showboats if not circus tents for the rich and famous? SpaceX still has to develop the same engines and airframes to carry scientists, miners or clowns.

[lentulusgracchus]

No space projects that do not shovel significant tax dollars toward these sacred cows will receive more than minimal support.

I don't think you get it.

This guy is auctioning off all the livestock and knocking down the barns, and then he's going to sell the house and the dirt to the Chinese for cheap -- just to spite the heirs, because he hates them.

Get it now?

[lentulusgracchus]

He was successful marketing genius and businessman who created products that people wanted!

"Egress".

"Never give a sucker an even break."

He deserves, not our scorn, but our urine.

[TYVets]

Patience, patience, it just takes a long time to train our muzzie astronauts.

They keep wanting to learn how to fly the space capsules into skyscrapers.

[sam_paine]

Really? Maybe you should find an ambulance chaser lawyer to sue someone for you if you are ignorant of a word’s definition?

Or you could get a community organizer to protest for you against entertainers using multisyllabic words?

[GOPJ]

NASA went PC a long time ago - until that’s stopped, the program will continue to fail.

[Wonder Warthog]

Declining??? What other country has even one private effort to develop launch capability???

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You let me know when that “private” launch company turns a profit. To date it’s received close to $800M from NASA and the DoD.