On Tuesday, South Korea launched its first rocket but failed to put the satellite in its planned orbit. Russia helped build the rocket after the United States refused due to worries that a regional arms race could take off. “With all its neighbors – China, Japan and North Korea – pursuing space programs, South Korea has been eager to have its own.”
South Korea and its northern neighbor are not the only ones with ambitions to reach space and contend with the well-established programs. Contenders in the new global space race also include Iran and Brazil. Russia has successfully put the most payloads into orbit in the last decade with the US close behind. China now launches more rockets than Europe and Japan and India send up less than five a year on average.
Images from The Economist and Jason Lee for Foreign Policy.
