Book excerpt: Civilization in the twenty-first century is characterized by its technological capacity, which is substantially realized through space technologies. A desire for increased security and rapid development is driving nation-states to engage in an intensifying competition for speed and superiority to better utilize the unique assets of space. This competition, however, is rigorously challenged by the unforgiving physical properties of the space environment such as extreme temperatures and intense fluxes of radiation, as well as by an escalation in nuclear proliferation that could end all life known to human existence. Despite these challenges, humanity is taking eager steps into space-and is taking its various geopolitical rivalries and imperatives along.Does space development further or undermine global security? Can an obsession with security pose an ironically existential threat to humanity in this most fragile yet unforgiving environment it is stepping into? This book analyses the Chinese-American space discourse from the lenses of international relations theory, history and political psychology to explore these questions.