DR NAMRATA GOSWAMI is a senior analyst specialising
in international studies. She is a Minerva Grantee.
All views expressed in this article are her own.This Asian “gold rush” is of relevance to Japan’s
space activity, too. Japan has made great strides in
achieving the base technology to harvest SBSP.
In March 2015, Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency,
or JAXA, successfully transmitted electric power
wirelessly to a pinpoint target utilising microwaves.
This is the base technology that will be required for the
transmission of SBSP to receiving stations on Earth.
SBSP taps the sun’s energy on orbit and delivers it
wirelessly to Earth. It is clean, global and it is renewable.
Given that space has no atmosphere, is never cloudy,
and has no night when it is in geosynchronous orbit, the
power generated by a SBSP satellite will be constant –
once the technology has been realised.
Russia has contributed immensely to augment the
space ambitions of Asian nations. China has benefitted
tremendously from Russia opening its space sector for
commercial purposes, purchasing Russian spacecraft,
and utilising their heavy lift booster technology.
Vietnam, Japan, India and Malaysia sent their first
astronauts into space on Russian rockets.
This rush for space resources is increasingly
perceived as being grounded in strategic interests
driving military growth, as rising military powers
above Astronaut Zhang
Xiaoguang attends training
in Beijing, Chinaleft A Soyuz U rocket is
launched in Plesetsk. Russia
contributes immensely to
Asia’s space programmesmake technological advances. The use of space for
reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, navigation and
military communications is well known.
That said, much of the motivation for development
and resource exploitation in space seems to be
compelled by concerns of environmental stress, climate
change, and resource scarcity. Some narratives within
China and India hint at concerns about resources
and their supply, ownership, control and access, as
well as at potential means of coercion, should other
powers dominate access to space energy, and mineral
and location resources. If Asia wants conflict-free
space exploration and development, it makes sense to
establish an international space code to regulate space
activities – sooner rather than later. agIMAGE © GETTY IMAGESscience