SpaceX’s Starship V3: A techno-utopian arms race obscures planetary resource extraction and colonial space ambitions
Original framing: “Once again, SpaceX has set a new record for the tallest rocket ever built” — Ars Technica
The Starship narrative echoes 19th-century colonial resource rushes (e.g., guano islands, oil concessions) and the 1960s Space Race, which was itself a Cold War proxy for technological supremacy. The privatization of space mirrors the enclosure of the commons during the Industrial Revolution, where public goods were captured by capital. Historical precedents like the British East India Company’s fusion of trade and militarization foreshadow today’s corporate-led space expansion. The 'tallest rocket' trope parallels the 19th-century obsession with building taller structures (e.g., Eiffel Tower) as symbols of national virility.
The Starship V3’s 'tallest rocket' milestone is not a triumph of innovation but a symptom of a deeper crisis: the fusion of Silicon Valley libertarianism with Cold War militarism, repackaged as 'progress.
' This model mirrors historical extractive booms (guano, oil, rare earths) but now targets the stratosphere and Moon as the next frontier, with SpaceX’s methane-fueled behemoth as its flagship. Indigenous cosmologies and Global South space programs offer radical alternatives—prioritizing reciprocity over conquest, sovereignty over privatization—but are systematically excluded by a narrative that equates height with virtue. The solution lies in dismantling the 'tallest rocket' myth through a *Space New Deal* that centers marginalized voices, replaces spectacle with stewardship, and treats space as a commons to be governed, not a colony to be claimed. The real race is not to the sky, but to reimagine humanity’s relationship with the cosmos before the next launch burns the last bridge home.