50 years after America’s moon mission, some of the smallest nations on Earth have joined the space race

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — For a generation, space was the exclusive playground of the world’s super powers — and for those who wanted to become one. Exactly 50 years ago this week, the United States launched its Apollo 11 lunar landing mission and the Trump administration is seeking to go back to the moon by 2024, writes Rick Noack for the Washington Post. Continue reading original article

The Intelligent Aerospace take:

July 17, 2019-Noack reports on the growing space ambitions not of growing BRIC powers, but of some of the world's smallest nation-states like Singapore and Luxembourg. The former has 1,000 people working in its satellite manufacturing industry, while Luxembourg is seeking to attract space tech start-ups by guaranteeing the rights of private companies to the resources they extract in space. Luxembourg became the second-such nation after the U.S. to make that guarantee. In addition, Noack touches on the booming space industry in New Zealand, which utilizes its relatively uncrowded airspace to its advantage as it became a desirable location to launch satellites into orbit.

Related: China and the next space race

Related: SpaceX launch puts first private Moon lander into space on Israel's behalf

Related: India announces it shot down a satellite

Jamie Whitney, Associate Editor
Intelligent Aerospace