BRICS EXPANSION: IMPLICATIONS FOR OUTER SPACE

Over the past decade, BRICS has been deepening cooperation on space security and technology. This domain has been a major site of contestation between Sino-Russian and U.S. ambitions to develop space norms. Will BRICS expansion support Sino-Russian ambitions and deepen bloc politics? We examine the space policies of individual BRICS members, the U.S., and the prospects for developing space governance and technology cooperation. While China and Russia's space campaign is likely to benefit from BRICS enlargement, there are opportunities for the U.S. to launch new initiatives to reduce the risk of conflict in space and broaden equitable access to space technologies.