But in recent years, it has been China’s space programs that have most worried US strategists. China now spends more on its civil and military space programs than do Russia and Japan. That’s far less than the $48 billion the United States spends on its military and civilian space programs, says analyst Phil Smith of consulting firm Bryce Space and Technology. But it is more than double Russia’s civilian space budget, which has been slashed to $3 billion. “If they continue on this trajectory, they’re going to quickly eclipse Russia in terms of their space technology capabilities,” said Todd Harrison, an expert on military space programs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Source: The Express Tribune January 06, 2019 16:07 UTC