Sixty-eight years ago, the Soviet Union shocked the world by launching Sputnik 1 and igniting the space race. Today, new Sputnik moments loom on the horizon, and the stakes are far higher. The country that emerges as a preeminent space power will guarantee its own economic and national security, and shape the “rules of the road” that govern the international community for decades to come. Who will that be?
Without immediate legal and technological reforms, the U.S. will remain vulnerable to adversarial drone incursions that exploit current jurisdictional and strategic gaps in our existing system.
China isn't aiming for the Moon-it is planning for control of space itself. By 2045, Beijing plans to dominate a $10 trillion Cislunar economy, beam power to Earth from orbit, and mine asteroids worth quintillions.
Working capital funds could revolutionize how the United States builds and maintains space industrial advantage, yet the Space Force remains locked out of this proven funding mechanism.
On the tenth anniversary of the Evolvable Lunar Architecture (ELA) study, its historical significance has come into sharp focus as a visionary roadmap that helped reframe U.S. Lunar ambitions around sustainability, affordability, and commercial partnership.