BIS West Midlands Branch: Cooperation or competition? – the space world of today

Congressional hearings
Date: 10 January 2026
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Location: Online via Zoom
BIS Events | BIS West Midlands | International | Online

In the early 2020s, the heads of NASA, Roskosmos and the China National Space Agency criss-crossed Africa, Asia and the Americas trying to sign up countries to join ‘their’ Moon project: Artemis, or the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). How had it come to this?

In this talk, Brian Harvey reviews the politics and diplomacy of the space world today, from the historical context of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) of the 1950s, through the various cooperative agencies set up by NASA, the Soviet Union (Interkosmos) and Europe (ESA) to joint projects like the International Space Station (ISS). How do China, India and Japan fit into to this global picture and where will it lead? What are the factors that lead countries to cooperate, compete or even do business across political divides – and what are the benefits or losses to space science as a result?

Speaker: Brian Harvey FBIS is a writer and broadcaster on spaceflight. His most recent books are China in space – the great leap (Praxis-Springer, 2019), also published in Chinese (2022); European-Russian cooperation in space – from de Gaulle to ExoMars (Praxis-Springer, 2021), Atlas of rocket launch sites (with Gurbir Singh; DOM, Berlin, 2022); Japan in space – past, present and future (Praxis-Springer, 2023). Forthcoming: Space alliances – global leaders, friends and enemies (Praxis-Springer, 2028).

Meeting Timetable

  • 13:55 – The meeting is available to join
  • 14:00 – Welcome
  • 14:05 – Cooperation or competition? – the space world of today

by Brian Harvey

  • 14:40 ish – Questions and Answers (we enable everyone’s microphone to allow an interactive Q&A session)

So, here’s the Plan/Joining Instructions!

  1. Register for the Talk using the link below
  2. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfkllKB_dYlhi_jDqGVmqU-lhJzI9hKLU4aVhDrVRq0d9IxGg/viewform
  3. Before the event, we will send you an email with the joining link for the meeting.
  4. On the day, click meeting link (and follow the on-screen instructions to install Zoom if prompted)

Please Note

The Conference Call and Q & A sessions will be recorded (which may capture your name, picture, voice or video) and made available via the West Midlands Facebook group and possibly via the BIS HQ website. You consent to this by registering for the Conference Call/Q & A sessions.