Russia Russia's space program runs through Roscosmos (Soyuz, the ISS, a Luna restart) plus a military space arm. Its Soviet-era lead and its long decline.
National Programs India's space program runs through ISRO (Chandrayaan, Mangalyaan, PSLV, Gaganyaan) plus a growing military space arm. Known for low-cost missions.
China The Chinese space station, Tiangong, has three modules and rotating taikonaut crews. Its layout, its science, and how it compares to the ISS.
National Programs The US space program spans NASA (Artemis, the ISS), a commercial engine led by SpaceX, and the U.S. Space Force. Why it holds the largest budget.
National Programs The European Space Agency (ESA) pools 20-plus nations to run Ariane 6, Galileo navigation, and Copernicus. Why Europe has no crewed launcher of its own.
National Programs The US spends and launches more than China in space today, but China has closed the gap faster than any rival. Budgets, stations, military space compared.
United States The NRO designs, builds, and operates US spy satellites. Secret for 32 years, its 2013 budget topped $10 billion, and its fleet is the largest ever flown.
National Programs China's space program flies its own station and outspends India by a wide margin. India lands on the Moon and Mars for a fraction of the cost. Compared.
United States The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) turns satellite imagery and mapping data into finished intelligence for US defense and policy leaders.
National Programs Japan's space program runs through JAXA, known for the Hayabusa2 asteroid sample return, the SLIM Moon landing, and a growing IGS reconnaissance fleet.
National Programs India's flagship missions run from ISRO: three Chandrayaan Moon missions, the Mangalyaan Mars orbiter, Gaganyaan's crewed program, and a planned station.
China China launches from four state sites plus a commercial spaceport on Hainan and a sea platform. What flies from Jiuquan, Taiyuan, Xichang and Wenchang.
China LandSpace, Space Pioneer, Galactic Energy, iSpace, CAS Space and more. Each company's rocket, flight record and listing status, updated for 2026.
China China has landed robots on the Moon, no astronauts. The hardware behind its stated goal of a crewed landing before 2030: Long March 10, Mengzhou, Lanyue.
Europe Europe's private rocket companies compared: PLD Space, HyImpulse, and Isar Aerospace, their funding, vehicles, and flight records as of September 2026.
China What LandSpace is, the Zhuque-2E and Zhuque-3 rockets it flies, the TQ-12A methane engine, and the LandSpace launches of 2026 through 14 October.
United States How NOAA satellites track severe weather and space storms, and how the GOES, JPSS, and L1 deep-space observatories divide the work between orbits.
United States The Artemis program is NASA's plan to return astronauts to the Moon. Artemis II flew in April 2026. Which missions have flown and which are scheduled.
United States The FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation licenses rocket launches, reentries, and spaceports under Part 450. How reviews and mishaps work.
United States NASA's Artemis program cost reaches $93 billion through FY2025, with SLS and Orion averaging $4.1 billion per flight according to the NASA OIG.
United States Axiom, Vast, Blue Origin, and Voyager are all building private space stations to replace the ISS. What each one is, and how close it is to flying.
Comparisons Compare military satellites by country using verified public tracker data, catalog records, and named defense programs across major space powers.
National Programs The 1967 Outer Space Treaty bans nuclear weapons and WMD in orbit, leaving conventional arms unregulated. Which states are bound, and what Article IV says.
China Chang'e 7 is China's upcoming robotic mission to survey the lunar south pole for water ice. Learn its status, spacecraft, and delay.
Great Powers Russia space program vs China space program compared across space stations, lunar landings, Mars rovers, budgets, and military counterspace systems.
China Chang'e 6 collected the first physical samples from the far side of the Moon. Learn its mission timeline, relay satellite, and science results.
China Chang'e 5 was China's first robotic mission to return lunar samples. Learn about its landing site near Mons Rümker, sample collection, and science results.
China Mengzhou is China's next-generation crewed spacecraft for lunar missions and space station flights. Learn its specs, escape test, and launch timeline.
China Lanyue is China's crewed lunar lander developed to carry two astronauts to the lunar surface before 2030. Learn its design, tests, and flight profile.
United States The NASA lunar terrain vehicle program provides unpressurized rovers for Artemis astronauts. Learn about the Lunar Outpost award and 2028 plans.
Space Policy The NASA budget for fiscal 2026 is about $24.44 billion, $400 million below fiscal 2025. How Congress set it and what Science and Exploration received.
Space Programs Artemis 4 is the mission NASA targets for the first crewed Artemis lunar landing in 2028. Why the landing moved from Artemis III and which vehicles fly it.
Space Programs Artemis 2 flew four astronauts on a lunar flyby from April 1 to April 10, 2026, with no landing. Crew, rocket, cost, and what comes next.
Space is a contest between nations again
For most of the space age, two superpowers defined what happened in orbit. That is no longer true. A handful of nations now run serious space programs, each blending civil science, commercial launch, and military capability, and the lines between those three have blurred. Understanding modern space means understanding who is doing what, and why, country by country.
Each page in this section covers a single power's program as a whole: its civil missions, its launch and satellite capabilities, and its military-space capabilities, because in practice the same rockets, sensors, and expertise serve all three. We treat this as open-source reference, built from public information: what each program has flown, what it has announced, and what remains a stated goal.
The programs we cover
China has advanced rapidly, operating its own Tiangong space station, returning lunar samples, and reorganizing its military space forces. Russia retains deep heritage and a capable military-space arm even as its civil program has narrowed. India has become a cost-efficient power with Moon and Mars missions and a demonstrated anti-satellite capability.
The United States still leads on budget, launch cadence, and military-space capability, now powered heavily by commercial companies and the U.S. Space Force. Europe, acting largely through the multinational European Space Agency, is a scientific and launch power wrestling with how much strategic autonomy it needs.
Why the military angle matters
Every one of these programs has a defense dimension, from missile-warning and navigation satellites to the anti-satellite weapons several of these nations have tested. Those capabilities connect directly to the topics in our defense section, and this section is where we tie them to the specific countries developing them.
How to use this section
Read a single country to understand its program end to end, or compare across pages to see how the powers stack up. Because programs, leadership, and stated timelines change, we describe ambitions as stated goals and mark anything time-sensitive.