Scramble for the Skies

The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space

By: Namrata Goswami, Peter A. Garretson

Narrated by: Daniel Winski

Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

©2019, 2020 Lexington Books (P)2023 Peter A. Garretson

Detailed insights into the inevitable space race

I liked how the authors delved into details about the changing landscape of policy, economy and possibility regarding outer space.

Prior to reading this book I wasn’t aware of how work the US, UAE, China and India had done in terms of creating plans for the exploitation of space resources. Things like mining asteroids and creating extraterrestrial infrastructure like factories and refueling stations seemed like stuff of science fiction, but now I recognize that it’s bound to happen given how many minds are already working on these technologies.

And the fact that countries like Luxembourg are already working to create legal frameworks for this future is also telling. I just wished there was a little more talk about about how countries like Japan, the UK and Germany also fit into this picture and also what the continent of Africa as a whole is also doing with regard to space.

Overall it was a great listen/read, I liked the scenarios at the end also and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about the burgeoning space economy and the (possible) politics around it all.