The Race for Space: America Needs Its Own Space Station

This commentary piece is part of CNAS’s The Pitch: A Competition of New Ideas. The author, Gillian Daley, won the Technology and National Security Heat at the 2024 competition.

Over the last 60 years, space technologies have become essential to nearly every facet of modern life, yet the United States government is not doing enough to protect these critical assets. Space technologies like satellites underpin the U.S. defense apparatus by enabling navigation, intelligence gathering, and secure communications—all of which are integral parts of homeland defense.¹ Satellites also support the everyday conveniences enjoyed by millions worldwide, including telecommunications, navigation systems, and financial institutions.² These technologies play a vital role in natural disaster management, delivering real-time weather data and storm tracking capabilities that are crucial for public safety. Moreover, research conducted in zero gravity allows scientists to make medical breakthroughs that would be impossible on Earth.³ Drug development, pharmaceutical testing, and innovations in synthetic organ growth have all been advanced in space, as its environment allows scientists to observe phenomena and chemical reactions that are sometimes obscured by gravitational pull.⁴

The assets the United States has in orbit are among its most valuable technologies. They power nearly every aspect of life on earth and help drive scientific breakthroughs that can enhance the quality of life for people everywhere. Given this, it is difficult to understand why the United States is not doing more to protect them. To better defend these assets and to enhance U.S. national security and competitiveness in this domain, the United States must launch its own space station. This would ensure the United States’ capacity to safeguard invaluable space assets and, by extension, the American people.

The United States has not had an independent space station in orbit since 1979.⁵ Since then, the United States has participated as a partner nation in the International Space Station (ISS), a collaborative project involving space agencies from Europe, Canada, Japan, and Russia. While the ISS has enabled significant advancements in scientific research, its collaborative nature makes the ISS unsuitable for projects directly related to defense or national security, and it has not allowed American power projection in the same way that an independent space station would.

According to the Department of Defense (DoD), the space domain is evolving with three key characteristics that require U.S. focus: competition, congestion, and contention. If the United States were to establish an independent space station, it would enhance the nation’s ability to compete offensively with near-peer nations, enable America to leverage space technology for defense and national security purposes, and position it to shape the rules of engagement in this warfighting arena.

Maintaining Primacy in the Next Warfighting Environment

The most important reason for the United States to invest in launching an independent space station is that it is already behind its competitors, including China.⁶ While the United States is content with participating in the ISS and sharing its research facilities with several other nations, China prioritized pursuing advancements in space and has now become the only country with its own space station in orbit. The Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) launched the Tiangong station in 2021, and since then, the station has yielded extraordinary developments in medicine and artificial intelligence, and the Chinese space agency even plans to begin constructing Chinese lunar structures as early as the 2030s.⁷ Additionally, the Chinese military has adopted the position that use of “coercive space activities” may be an attractive option for exerting influence over the United States’ movements in space.⁸ By showcasing its space power as a strategic weapon, China leverages its advancements, operations, and capabilities to exert pressure and assert influence. To maintain strategic competitiveness, the United States must prioritize leadership in space. The readiness and adaptability of the U.S. military cannot afford to stagnate, as its near-peer competitors continue to innovate rapidly. Allowing China to lead in space technology and research, with a permanent crewed station in orbit and a lunar base within the next decade, could leave the United States unable to catch up.

Innovating and Defending U.S. Interests on the Planet’s Surface and Beyond

The United States could leverage an independent space station for national security and defense applications that are not feasible on the ISS. Without the security limitations of a collaborative environment, American scientists and researchers could advance defense efforts, research, and technology development. For example, one of the greatest physical threats to U.S. assets in space is orbital congestion—space rocks, such as natural micrometeorites, and man-made objects—that could collide with and potentially damage critical technologies, like satellites or launch vehicles. These technologies are critical to national security efforts and help to power every computer, navigation system, and launching system in the U.S. defense apparatus. The DoD reports that there are over 22,000 man-made objects in orbit, all of which pose serious risks to these defense assets.⁹ The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing microgravity technologies, like ballistic air guns, aimed at targeting micrometeorites and other debris, but with an independent space station, that research could be expanded upon in a zero-gravity environment.¹⁰ It is possible that scientists could continue the development of these technologies on a larger scale to target the issue of orbital congestion in space, ensuring that invaluable American satellites remain safely in orbit.¹¹

Leading Through Influence and Establishing Norms of Behavior in Space

As the DoD has noted, space is becoming increasingly competitive, and as human beings continue to explore the domain, it could become harder to regulate.¹² The United States may be in danger of losing its competitive edge in this environment as the knowledge and physical presence in space of other nations increases. Other countries will only continue to bolster their presence and investments in space and space technology as time continues, and it is critical that the United States remains the preeminent leader in this domain to foster a norm of peaceful and responsible actions. Establishing a permanent, manned presence in this emerging warfighting environment could enhance U.S. ability to project power and deter other nations from engaging in illiberal or unconstructive behavior. Furthermore, a permanent station could enable the United States to lead by example, collaborating with other nations on the most responsible ways to conduct research, engage in spaceflight activities, and approach the utilization of celestial resources in the future.

China is the only nation in the world to have an independent space station in orbit, and the CNSA is attempting to become the first to erect lunar structures.¹³ The United States risks ceding its competitive advantage if it refuses to invest in establishing a strong presence in space and therefore risks other nations dictating the rules of engagement and norms of behavior in this emerging environment.¹⁴

Now Is the Time to Act

The ISS is set to retire by 2030, and now is the time for the United States to begin constructing a new era of leadership in space.¹⁵ Currently, the budget for the ISS is funneled through NASA, which receives its funding from Congress. The funding for an independent space station could come through similar channels, or, given its national security imperative, there could be an avenue for additional funding through the National Defense Authorization Act—the must-pass annual defense bill that allocates money for all DoD projects.

Developing an independent space station is crucial for maintaining the United States’ strategic advantage in space, supporting critical defense and scientific research, and fostering innovation that will shape the future of space exploration. Moreover, establishing a continuous, manned, and operational presence in space will allow the United States to exhibit strength and capability in space, project forward power, and support U.S. primacy in this military arena. Without a dedicated space station, the United States risks ceding leadership to other nations, ultimately compromising both its dominance and national security. The time to act is now, ensuring that the United States remains at the forefront of space exploration, securing its place in a rapidly evolving global space race.

About the Author

Gillian Elizabeth Daley is a recent graduate of Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and currently works as a government affairs manager at a trade association. Before her current role, she served as an intelligence fellow at the Gordon Institute, a youth engagement fellow at the United Nations Foundation, and a regional fellow at IGNITE National. She has also interned for two Florida state legislative offices and for the office of Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

During her master’s program, she concentrated in strategic studies and wrote her thesis on the “axis of autocracy” and emerging threats posed by great power competitors, like China and Russia. She also attended Florida International University, where she pursued an undergraduate double major in international relations and political science, as well as two certificate degrees in public policy and national security.

Acknowledgments

To my friends and family—thank you for the endless encouragement; to the folks at CNAS—thank you for the boundless patience and consideration you’ve shown me throughout this process. And to my loyal companion, Barbie, who kept me company through countless late nights. You are missed every day. This report was made possible with general support to CNAS.

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About the Pitch

CNAS began The Pitch: A Competition of New Ideas in 2020 to elevate emerging and diverse voices in national security. Students and early-career professionals from across a variety of sectors submit innovative policy ideas to meet new challenges in U.S. national security policy. Selected applicants pitch their ideas in front of a distinguished panel of judges and a live audience. The judges and audience select heat winners, the audience choice winner, and best in show. Competitors will also have their ideas featured in official CNAS products and social media.