Space Race Guide

To win Civilization 4's space race, research Rocketry, build the Apollo Program, build every spaceship part (13 in the base game, unlocked by Rocketry, Satellites, Fusion, Robotics, Fiber Optics, Ecology and Genetics) and launch to Alpha Centauri; in Beyond the Sword you may launch early with fewer parts, the ship takes time to arrive, and losing your capital dooms it.

To win Civilization 4's space race you build the Apollo Program, then every spaceship part, then launch the ship and reach Alpha Centauri, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 106). The Apollo Program is a project that needs Rocketry, and the base game's chart lists 13 parts behind it, each tied to a late-game technology. Beyond the Sword changed the race: you may launch with only the essential parts or add extras for a faster ship, the ship then travels for a number of turns that depends on its parts, and the first to arrive wins, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 46). That makes the end of the race a contest of speed and defense, not only of research. This guide gives the parts, the techs, the resources that speed them and how to protect a ship in flight; the rules of every victory type are on Victory Conditions.

Space scene of a gray segmented ship crossing the frame in front of a yellow sun, a red planet, a blue planet and dashed orbit lines, with asteroids at upper left. — A scene from 2K's Beyond the Sword page: a long spaceship flies past the planets of the solar system, with the Sun and orbit lines behind it. Firaxis Games and 2K

Quick facts

Goal	Build the spaceship, launch it and reach Alpha Centauri
First step	The Apollo Program project (Rocketry, 1,000 hammers)
Parts (base game)	13: five Casings, three Thrusters, one each of Engine, Docking Bay, Cockpit, Life Support, Stasis Chamber
Techs for parts	Rocketry, Satellites, Fusion, Robotics, Fiber Optics, Ecology, Genetics
Speed-up resources	Aluminum (Apollo, Casings, Thrusters, Docking Bay); Copper (Cockpit, Life Support, Stasis Chamber)
Wonder	The Space Elevator: +50% spaceship production in all cities
Progress	Victory Conditions screen, F8
Beyond the Sword	Launch early or add redundant parts; delayed arrival; first to arrive wins
Risk	Losing your capital dooms a ship in flight (Beyond the Sword)

Source: Civilization IV manual, charts pp. 214-215; Beyond the Sword manual, p. 46; GameSpot, Jun 26, 2007.

Step 1: the Apollo Program

The Apollo Program is a project, not a wonder, and "Required to build spaceship parts", per the Civilization IV manual's project chart (p. 215). It needs Rocketry and costs 1,000 hammers, and access to aluminum doubles its build speed. Rocketry cost 4,500 research in the base game by GameSpot's guide of Jan 18, 2006, and also unlocks SAM Infantry and the ICBM. Projects and how they differ from wonders are on National Wonders and Projects.

Step 2: every part

The base game's chart lists seven kinds of part, 13 in all. Every part needs the Apollo Program plus its own technology (Civilization IV manual, p. 215); tech costs are the base game's, from GameSpot's guide:

Part	Needed	Cost (hammers)	Tech	Tech cost	Double speed with
SS Casing	5	400	Rocketry	4,500	Aluminum
SS Thrusters	3	600	Satellites	3,500	Aluminum
SS Engine	1	1,000	Fusion	6,000	none listed
SS Docking Bay	1	1,200	Robotics	5,000	Aluminum
SS Cockpit	1	800	Fiber Optics	5,500	Copper
SS Life Support	1	600	Ecology	3,500	Copper
SS Stasis Chamber	1	1,000	Genetics	5,500	Copper

Sources: Civilization IV manual, chart p. 215 (parts); GameSpot: Civilization IV Walkthrough, Jan 18, 2006 (tech costs, version 1.00).

Added up from that chart, a full base-game ship costs 8,400 hammers of parts on top of the Apollo Program's 1,000. Fusion is the most expensive of the seven techs at 6,000, and GameSpot's table also notes that the first civilization to discover it gets a free Great Engineer. The techs that lead to these are on Technologies.

These are the base game's rules. Beyond the Sword changed the techs some parts need, and its manual (p. 46) says to "Check the Civilopedia for specific changes"; it also reshaped the late tree, so that Fiber Optics needs Laser or Computers and Robotics no longer needs Plastics directly (pp. 44-45). In Beyond the Sword, read each part's Civilopedia entry before planning research.

Step 3: build fast

Spaceship parts are expensive, so the race is won by production as much as by research. Three things in the base rules speed it up:

Aluminum: the Civilization IV manual lists the Apollo Program, the Space Elevator and SDI among the builds whose time aluminum halves (p. 112), and its chart doubles Casing, Thrusters and Docking Bay production with aluminum (p. 215).
Copper: the same chart doubles the Cockpit, Life Support and Stasis Chamber with copper. Copper is revealed by Bronze Working and needs a Mine. See Resources.
The Space Elevator: a world wonder that needs Robotics, costs 2,000 hammers (aluminum doubles its speed) and gives "+50% spaceship production" in all your cities, per the manual's wonder chart. The other great wonders are on Wonders.

Only one city can build a given wonder at a time, and losing a wonder race turns part of the spent production into gold, per the Civilization IV manual (p. 95). The Internet, a project needing Fiber Optics, "grants all technologies acquired by any 2 known civilizations" (chart p. 215), which can fill gaps in the space techs if rivals research them first.

Step 4: launch (and in Beyond the Sword, when)

In the original game the first complete ship effectively won. GameSpot's May 2007 preview summed up the old rule: "In Civ IV, you won the game the moment that you could launch your spaceship to Alpha Centauri", which it called "anticlimactic and rushed". IGN's 2005 review likewise found that once the ship is complete "you're declared the winner", and missed the old wait for arrival.

Beyond the Sword brought the voyage back. You may launch with minimal parts or "construct redundant systems to improve its performance", and every ship has "a delayed arrival after launch" whose length depends on the components used, per the Beyond the Sword manual (p. 46). GameSpot's hands-on of Jun 26, 2007 describes the minimum as "rockets, an engine, and the parts that make up the capsule", and says spending more turns and resources on a bigger ship "can get to Alpha Centauri faster". So a civilization that starts the race second or third can still win by launching a faster ship later; in GameSpot's words, BtS made space victory "not just a matter of who builds a shuttle first, but who builds the best and fastest one" (review, Jul 25, 2007).

Choosing when to launch is the key decision. The manuals give no table of arrival times per part, so use the in-game screen: in Beyond the Sword the Victory Conditions screen (F8) has a Space Race "View" screen where you look at your ship and customize it before launch (manual, p. 46). The same F8 screen counts the parts every rival has finished (Civilization IV manual, p. 106).

Step 5: defend the capital

A ship in flight is only safe while its capital is. GameSpot's hands-on says that if another civilization looks set to arrive first, "you can try to invade and take over its capital city, which will doom the spaceship as it loses its guidance from ground control". So keep a strong garrison in your capital until the ship arrives, and expect rivals who are losing the race to attack it; the reverse is also your way back into a race you are losing. Building a defense and an army is on the War Guide.

Watch the other victories

A space race can be lost to a different victory. IGN's reviewers described a Beyond the Sword game in which they were "several turns away from a space victory" when the English were about to win a cultural victory sooner; they sent spies to sabotage the English culture buildings and sponsor a city revolt (IGN, Jul 26, 2007). Keep an eye on every rival's progress on the F8 screen, and use Espionage or diplomacy to slow a rival close to another win. A Time victory also ends the race if nobody arrives before the last turn, usually 2050 AD (manual, p. 105).

Frequently asked questions

How do you win the space race in Civ 4? In Civilization 4 you research Rocketry, build the Apollo Program, build every spaceship part and launch the ship to Alpha Centauri (manual, p. 106). In Beyond the Sword the first ship to arrive wins, not the first to launch.

What spaceship parts are there in Civ 4? The base Civilization 4 chart lists five SS Casings, three SS Thrusters and one each of SS Engine, Docking Bay, Cockpit, Life Support and Stasis Chamber, 13 parts in all (manual, p. 215).

What does the Apollo Program do in Civ 4? The Apollo Program is a Civilization 4 project that needs Rocketry, costs 1,000 hammers and is required to build spaceship parts; aluminum doubles its build speed (manual, p. 215).

Can you launch with fewer parts in Civ 4? Only in Beyond the Sword: Civilization 4's second expansion lets you launch with minimal parts, but the ship's arrival is delayed by a time that depends on its components (Beyond the Sword manual, p. 46).

What happens if your capital is captured after launch in Civ 4? In Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword, capturing a civilization's capital dooms its spaceship, GameSpot reported in its Jun 26, 2007 hands-on.

Which wonder helps the space race in Civ 4? The Space Elevator, a Civilization 4 wonder that needs Robotics, gives +50% spaceship production in all your cities (manual's wonder chart).