WITH the launch of Sputnik in 1957, the Soviet Union kick-started the space race with America in earnest, but when the cold war ended America's lead was cemented. A new report by Futron, a technology consultancy, underlines America's dominance. Futron's space-competitiveness index ranks the nine leading countries, plus Europe, in space technology according to 40 measures in government spending, human expertise and the private sector. Europe benefits from its joint policy and the expertise of multinational companies, while China and India are using their economic clout to become bigger players.

Shutterstock