Digital Sprocket

How can you possibly compare human space flight to nuclear bombs and missiles? The link is not to be found among technologies, but rather in the quest for national prestige.

During the cold war many nations aggressively pursued nuclear development programs. Although they were always clothed in the rhetoric of national defense, nuclear weapons have never been employed for this purpose. You could argue that the US and Russia needed to counter each other’s arsenals, but millions of bullets have been fired, though not one nuclear weapon has been fired in anger since WWII. Additionally, smaller nation had no similar justification.

Iran, North Korea, South Africa, Egypt, India, and Pakistan all created nuclear programs. Were they really needed for national defense? South Africa has gone so far as dismantling their arsenal. That’s a clear sign that it wasn’t required to keep thee nation safe from outside threats. These programs were more about national prestige than about defense.

Even among the superpowers, nuclear weapons development was one way for the two nations to demonstrate their technical superiority. Because the big boys had nukes, any nation that wanted to be viewed as serious contender for regional leadership, they needed nukes too. Iran and Pakistan are both potential leaders for the Islamic world, and hence they needed to demonstrate their capabilities by developing nuclear weapons.

Today, those nukes are becoming less important. There are hints of a new space race. This time any powerful nation can participate. Even private companies can participate. Of course The US and Russia have spaceflight programs, but that’s not new. What is new is the number of other nations announcing a commitment to space flight. In recent years China leaped to the stage with two manned flights. This is a direct challenge to Japan’s quieter program launching astronauts on other nation’s vehicles and contributing serious hardware to the ISS. These two nations also happen to be the biggest powerhouses in Asia, and are flexing their space muscles for their neighbor’s benefit.

South Korea’s Yi So Yeon, who visited the ISS this year is another good example. Although she conducted experiments on orbit, the Korean scientific community was angered by the decision to spend $30 million on her flight. Their complaint is that more money was spent on this one flight than on all other government sponsored scientific projects combined. This is a clear indication that the flight was politically motivated to demonstrate that South Korea is a world player.

Now Iran has announced plans for a manned space program. The national benefits of such a program are murky at best for a nation like Iran. It’s just one more move in the game of international politics and regional control. In the next few months we can expect to hear Pakistan either make a similar announcement, or they will attempt to dismiss Iran’s claims as impossible. As I said before, space flight is the new nuclear program.