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By Ryan Chan
China News Reporter
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The space race between the United States and China is intensifying, with both countries conducting rocket activities in their contest for dominance outside Earth's atmosphere.
On August 12, the U.S. military carried out its first National Security Space Launch with a newly certified rocket. Three days later, China conducted the first static fire test of a new rocket intended for its manned lunar landing missions, which it plans to carry out before the end of the decade.
Why It Matters
Space, once seen as a peaceful domain, has again become part of the competition among great powers. The U.S. established the Space Force amid growing threats from Russia and China, which have been accused of militarizing space.
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In addition to military developments in space, the U.S. and China are racing to be the first to return humans to the moon—a historic achievement that former NASA astronaut Colonel Terry Virts warned could determine whether the 21st century belongs to the U.S. or China.
What To Know
According to the U.S. Space Force, a Vulcan rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on its inaugural National Security Space Launch mission, delivering demonstrations and experiments, including a navigation satellite, into orbit for the Pentagon.
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The National Security Space Launch program uses commercial launch services to deploy satellites for communications; positioning, navigation, and timing; missile warning and tracking; and space situational awareness for the military and intelligence community.
In late March, the Vulcan rocket—developed and operated by Colorado-based United Launch Alliance—was certified to deliver national security satellites into orbit, joining SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy as the third rocket certified for such missions.
On Friday, the China Manned Space Agency announced that the Long March-10 carrier rocket successfully completed a static fire test at Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in Hainan, the country's southern island province, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
During the test, seven engines of the rocket's first stage were ignited, producing almost 1,000 tons of thrust while the rocket remained attached to the launch mount. The event evaluated the engines' simultaneous performance under different conditions, according to the agency.
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While the Long March-10 rocket is designed for China's manned lunar exploration missions, its sister variant, the shorter Long March-10A rocket, is also under development and is set to be used for missions carrying astronauts and cargo to the country's space station.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command said in a news release on August 13: "Assured Access to Space executes the U.S. Space Force's core function of Space Access, performing the space lift and range control missions. It secures reliable and responsive launch services to deploy the space-based capabilities needed by our Nation's warfighters, intelligence professionals, decision makers, allies and partners."
The China Manned Space Agency announced on August 15: "The Long March-10 series rockets will be fully utilized in the country's manned spaceflight program, working in tandem with the Mengzhou manned spacecraft to achieve the upgrading of China's manned space-Earth round-trip transportation system."
What Happens Next
Facing China's rapidly growing space capabilities, it remains to be seen whether the U.S.—including the military, NASA and commercial service providers—will maintain its space dominance.
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