AI and Space Race

[justjake73]

Does the AI always declare war on you when the Space Race begins? I want to know so I know whether or not to move my forces around to counter any moves / attacks. Thanks in advance

Warlord level

Equal in strength to Chinese and Eqypt, stronger than France and India

[justjake73]

*bump*

[FrantzX]

Didn't happen to me on Regent level. I just won the space race literally by about three turns. I was just about to go nuke crazy on Greece and Russia when I got the lazer. One ICBM-into-party-longue turn later, win!

[solo]

No, not always, especially if you lag behind a bit, on purpose, in building your ship. Sneak in those last few parts all at once on the last turn. Also be generous with gifts if you notice any enemy units around your borders. Keep all the AI "polite". Finally, build strong defenses during the period just before the space race begins, and try to add an assortment of the most modern military units available.

[Fistleaf]

Actually it's not hard to win the Space Race even at Emperor level if you are not too far behind. Keep out of MPP and keep trading with the AI. You should also maintain an "average" army to deter invasion.
The AI is very good at beelining for Synthetic Fibres, Space Flight, Satellites and Superconductor. However, instead of researching Nuclear Power (prerequisite for Laser, to build the final spaceship part), the AI much much prefers to research Miniaturization, allowing me to win the Space Race by virtue of researching Nuclear Power first.