Russia and China

By any measure — launches, human presence in orbit, or military systems — the United States and the Soviet Union dominated what William E. Burrows has called the “first” space age. ¹ Russia remains the second most capable space power, next to the United States, and still leads in a number of categories. While its space program suffered from considerable decline during the 1990s, it has made significant steps toward recovery, thanks to a combination of newly found economic resources (due to recently high world oil prices) and a political leadership (led by former President Vladimir Putin) interested in restoring the country's space prominence, both to bolster national pride and to shore up Russia's military capabilities.