Charles Beames is executive chairman at York Space Systems. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

This year's 50th anniversary of America's victory in the space race is a good time to reflect on what we can do when we put forth our very best. It's hard to believe that it's been half a century since I stood on the beach with my parents and siblings, watching the Apollo 11 launch live only miles from Cape Canaveral. Since that first boot print on the moon, time has flown by. Maybe that's why celebrating this anniversary is so bittersweet.

The successful Apollo 11 mission demonstrated to the world that the United States was the unrivaled power in space. At that time, an essential part of Cold War strategy was landing an American on the moon and returning him home safely: a feat that would become one of the boldest technological endeavors in human history. It set the bedrock for a generation of economic growth, equipped American statecraft and ensured global power. From Apollo onward, America's space capability has stood as a symbol of hope to billions around the world and a reminder of the promise of science to advance the human race.

But the thrill of watching SpaceX's spectacular, and now routine, Falcon rocket launches largely obscures much of America's antiquated space industry. Without the energy, leadership and risk-taking of private citizens like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the hundreds of entrepeneurs and investors inspired by them, our space landscape would be almost entirely unchanged and uncompetitive globally.

Today, the space industry is largely an extension of the government itself and massively inefficient in how it allocates capital to promote commercial growth. Instead of encouraging free-market innovation and private investment, current government policy discourages commercial-type competition, reinforces incumbency and opposes reforms to improve. While expedient in the near term to win the technology race of the Cold War, this narrowminded approach has ultimately inhibited innovation, and we are now falling behind.

At best, the government-funded space industry loiters, with NASA and national security space programs spending billions of unnecessary dollars on obsolete technologies while keeping outdated satellite architectures on life support. Over 20 years of this downward trend has left this part of our space industry unprepared to lead or even be competitive for the next 50 years. If we lose the second space race that is already underway, the consequences will be actually far worse than if we had lost the first. This race is not about bragging rights or national prestige — it's about commercial economic growth and national security.

Read More