The Future of Americans in Space

With the pending end of the space shuttle era in American space policy, critical questions revolve around the issue of how and when the United States will return to independent crewed space flight. The decision is complicated by the fact that the US has long had the prestige of being one of the first two space pioneers, first with the Soviet Union and now with the Russian Federation. Both programs grew out of the Cold War driven global competition that only truly ended in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. That competition had a warping effect upon both participants in that each self-defined themselves as the dominant player within their political-military bloc, an identification reinforced by possession of the largest and most powerful military forces and economies. With the Cold War's end and the growth of other states to positions of selective parity with the two former superpowers, space activities become more complicated, with diverse international partners possible and conflicting agendas common. How the US responds to these changes will have great impact on the future of American human space exploration, changes are being forced regardless of US preferences in how affairs are conducted in the future.…