The space race and proxy wars were a huge part of the cold war, and now, many things point to some kind of new cold war. I'm surprised by the amount of people claiming that there's no connection.
this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2026
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Dude…
The US has always been at war.
All empires are always at war…
Yeah, but Vietnam was a pinnacle of sorts, and Iran started pushing really hard and fast as launch day approached...
Pretty sure Artemis was in the works long before this. If you want to talk suspiciously convenient timing, look at the intervention in Venezuela just before before Iran.
Artemis has been in the works for over 20 years, this is the first time the project didn't get delayed for ... reasons.
No matter when you launch the rocket, the US will be in some war overseas.
No matter when you launch the rocket, the US will be losing some war overseas
Ftfy
There isn't a connection.
Classic example of correlation not being causation.
Exactly
While the relationships may not be causal, there are literally millions of connections.
Ok, since there are literally millions of connections, list 50.
Start with the thousands of contractors who drift back and forth between NASA and military contracts.
That's not millions of links, though. It's just that building rockets is a thing only a handful of companies are equipped to do.
The better metric to look at is which country is the US trying to show up. In 69 it was Russia, and today it's China.
Each contract worker is a link. Each company is a link. Each congress critter playing for missile pork projects in their district is a link. And this isn't just about the missiles, as you say: who are we trying to impress? What are we trying to get in exchange for that impression?
It's not about getting something in exchange. It's about showing off with a display of power.
So, by "in exchange" I don't mean quid-pro-quo China ships the U.S. 25 tons of Rare Earth metals because they're so impressed, I mean: what results are they expecting? Congress critters generally are looking for re-election and all the perks that come with long term tenure in a seat. Lobbyists are generally lookig for more pork from their critters. Contractor firms are looking for that pork as "contracts" they can overbill and under deliver for with impunity, etc. etc. There are international results expected as well, such as greater negotiating power to get more advantageous positions in agreements.
Monument building is the reaction of a scared nation. It's historically been a cheap way to boost national unity