Since the early 2000s, new projects of space expansionism have emerged, including the commercial-, military-driven and scientific projects to colonize the Moon and Mars. The new space expansionism followed a period of comparatively lower attention to space in international politics, and it is sometimes called the New Space Race by analogy to the 20th century Space Race between the USSR and the US. With the first Space Race, outer space became explicitly politicized and served as a locus of futuristic utopian social and political imagination, not least in the USSR and the socialist bloc. In this dissertation, I investigate the possible ways of constructing alternative social and political futures in and through space in post-Soviet Russia. Drawing theoretically on postcolonial critique of space expansionism, the concepts of biopolitical production and of assemblage, and methodologically on narrative analysis, I argue that social and political futurism in and through space today presupposes changing attitudes to space and time in a way that challenges analyses from the angles of political science and IR. In this thesis, I highlight socially and politically futuristic practices which exist on the margins of political power and have greater autonomy from official discourse, arguing for the understanding of utopia in postmodernity as an assemblage.

Whereas the rise of private space entrepreneurship is indisputable, we contend that contrary to the “NewSpace” narrative, the development of privately owned and operated human spacefaring does not dispel or fundamentally alter the American space dream, but rather implies continuity of the narrative of America as the dominant global space power, specifically regarding a return to the Moon and with the explicit aim of colonizing Mars. Herein, we analyze the continuity of the American space dream and how it is expressed by public and private space actors, as well as being supported by popular culture, entertainment, and an active space enthusiast community. We maintain that the continuity of the American space dream as a unifying national narrative is facilitated by how private spacefaring is dependent on the U.S. Government’s emphasis on the pivotal role of private space industry for space exploration. This dependent relationship provides incentives for private space entrepreneurs to share and leverage the established American space dream. The continuity of the American space dream is achieved through a prevailing, yet reconfigured, government-industrial complex.

How is outer space perceived in contemporary Russian politics and popular cul-ture? This question is addressed through an analysis of post-Soviet Russian space policy and Russian popular culture, the latter concerning e.g. space museums, movies and literature. By looking both at Russian space policy (operated mainly through the Russian state corporation Roscosmos) and at expressions in popular culture, a wide plethora of ideas and visions of cosmos and Russia’s place in space is observed. Patterns of continuity and change are observed in both realms, and link-ages between politics and popular culture are noted. Expressions of Soviet nostal-gia exists, but there is also a widespread perception of Russia as a weakened space power, seeking to maintain space exploration capacity rather than to take a global lead. In contemporary popular culture, there is also a new diversity of space visions, ranging from postcolonial critique of Soviet and contemporary Russian space policy to global liberal notions and new imperial visions.

What are the consequences of making cyberspace increasingly reliant on satellites and other types of space infrastructure? And what is the meaning and significance of an interplanetary cyberspace? The chapter addresses these developments specifically concerning infrastructure, militarization, and privatization. The consequences observed are summed up as fragmentation, vulnerability, and uncertainty. Cyberspace in space implies fragmentation in terms of stakeholders and governance, and ultimately in terms of power and accountability. Vulnerability increases as cyberspace becomes satellite-based (space is certainly not a safe environment, and satellites can be attacked by anti-satellite weapons as well as new forms of hacking and denial of service. Uncertainty of is tremendous particularly both in terms of what norms and principles will apply (compare the debate on Internet freedom vs. Internet sovereignty), and whether militarization or civilian and even utopian ideas will prevail.

Whereas the rise of private space entrepreneurship is indisputable, this paper contends that contrary to the “NewSpace” narrative, the development of privately owned and operated human spacefaring  does not dispel or fundamentally alter the American space dream but rather implies continuity of the narrative of America as the dominant global space power, specifically regarding a return to the Moon and with the explicit aim of colonizing Mars. The present paper analyzes the continuity of the American space dream and how it is expressed by public and private space actors as well as being supported by popular culture, entertainment, and an active space enthusiast community. The paper maintains that the continuity of the American space dream as a unifying national narrative is facilitated by how private spacefaring is heavily dependent on the US government’s emphasis on the pivotal role of private space industry for US-led space exploration. This dependent relationship provides incentives for private space entrepreneurs to share and tap into the established American space dream. The continuity of the American space dream is achieved through a prevailing yet reconfigured government-industrial complex.