Guest: Dr. Namrata Goswami; Topics: The national security aspects for space with the U.S. China and other nations. U.S. leadership problems, Chinese leadership, Chinese gains with other countries and much more.
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We welcomed back to the show Dr. Namrata Goswami who detailed for us space and our national security, the same for China and other nations, plus our guest provided us with detailed analysis of our country's space leadership comparing it to that of China. Shortfalls and problems were brought to our attention in addition to examining alternative viewpoints including those that characterize China as simply a tough commercial space competitor.
Due to the detail and numerous components to the analysis and commentary, the best way for me to summarize the program is to once ask you to follow the Tags as they do a good job of summarizing discussion points in the order talked about on the show. For your convenience, the tags are repeated here:
Tags: Dr. Namrata Goswami, space as a democracy, The Second Space Race: Democratic outcomes for the Future of Space in The Georgetown Journal, U.S. trends, serious leadership issues, U.S. compared to China, U.S. vision concerns, Artemis, climate change China style, Africa, South America, China's Belt & Road, Ukraine and space, cognitive gap, competition in space, competition overview and realism, global leadership deficit, NOAA, Dept. of Commerce, Space Force discussion, sustainable Chinese leadership, the importance and value of space, bipartisan open source research, space not seen as a priority with the U.S. government, consequences should Chinese leadership prevail, role of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Naval decline, ASAT tests, important timelines, nuclear concerns, demographics with the analysis, cheap labor, U.S. space policy five years out, Space Solar Power, China with Molten Salt Reactor leadership, Long March 5 reentry.
As for memorable moments or key points in the discussion from my perspective, there were many but for me the troubling part of the analysis was the continued short fall of U.S. policy in how it has and is treating space, specifically commercial space and the use of space in foreign relations to help in selling the need for space to remain democratized. The case needs to be made, all the time, that the U.S. and the west offer democratization of space, not China but we don't do that. Nor do we work hard to explain why space democratization is important to all, even an African or South American nation.
Namrata included a discussion about conflicting world views, not just with the Chinese but within our own country. To some degree, we come across conflicting world views on TSS with listeners believing fear and concern over China is not necessary as they are only a commercial competitor. Namrata addressed that during the show and explained why that particular global view was dangerous. When you hear this discussed, please post your comments about it on our blog.
Callers wanted to talk about space solar power which turned into a key part of the discussion. Listen to what our guest said about China and SSP plans compared to the US with zero official SSP plans. Also note how China uses SSP energy in winning over developing nations. Do you agree with her on the potential and significance regarding the first to test out and bring to market SSP? Do you concur with her on the impact of that with African and other nations currently having problems with sufficient fuel and power for their economies coming through the oil markets? From what our guest said, China is more advanced in this area, including the policy making and winning of friends through this technology, assuming it can be commercially developed.
Namrata had much to say about how space policy is derived, the government agencies in charge of it in the U.S. and how a restructuring would be beneficial. Listen to her commentary on NOAA and the Dept. of Commerce for example. Also her commentary on our developing space force. In addition to our conversation, I would be remiss not to point out the importance of the article written for the Georgetown Journal dated Jan, 25, 2022, "The Second Space Race: Democratic Outcomes for the Future of Space." This article summarized much of what our guest was talking about today though given the elapsed time since Jan. 25 of this year, our program had the advantage of knowing more about policy and developments by seven months. You can find this article at https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2022/01/25/the-second-space-race-democratic-outcomes-for-the-future-of-space. I strongly urge you to read it as it will certainly enhance the value and understanding brought to today's discussion by Dr. Goswami.
Before ending our discussion, our guest was asked what U.S. space policy and the world would look like five years from now and 10 years out if we drop the ball. Before you hear how our guest answered this question, figure out for yourself what things will look like in the future and then see how your view of the future in space compares with that of our guest.
Please post your comments/questions for Dr. Goswami on our blog for this program. You can reach our guest through me or through both her Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.
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