China In Space: How does it affect us?

hina's successful launching of a man into space last week was a technological triumph for a still-developing nation. The flight came more than four decades after the pioneering orbital flights of the Soviet Union and the United States and relied heavily on Russian technologies. Although Chinese space leaders are talking grandly of trips to the moon and Mars, this modest first step should not reignite the global space race that died out with the end of the cold war.

China's first step into low Earth orbit was a brief 21-hour flight in which Yang Liwei circled the globe 14 times and then landed safely in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. His spacecraft was based on the Russian Soyuz design but had been enlarged and upgraded by the Chinese themselves. Chinese officials now talk of establishing a small space laboratory in coming years, followed by exploration of the moon and a mission to Mars several decades from now. But whether they can develop pioneering technologies, not just adapt old Russian designs, is yet to be determined.

China's space program seems fueled by the same factors that propelled the American and Russian programs, namely a desire to enhance national prestige, awe rival powers, spur technological advances and promote high-tech exports. The feat is already having some impact in Asia, where a Tokyo newspaper greeted the flight with a headline: "Japan Shocked at Being Placed Way Behind." That ignores the fact that Japan and the European powers could clearly have done the same thing years ago but chose instead to concentrate on other space activities.

Fears have been expressed that China's manned space program may have military implications. The program could indeed spur development of materials, robotic systems and other technologies that could be used for military purposes, and conceivably even lead to manned reconnaissance vehicles in orbit. But orbiting battle fleets seem more nightmarish than real. Instead of fearing the nascent Chinese program, we should welcome it as another way to get crews and cargo into space at a time of crisis, like that which has grounded the entire American shuttle fleet.

So now china has become the third nation to join the elite space club ...how is it going to affect the way we live and how American influence in asia is projected?

China is now scraping its way towards superpower status so it can be economically and technologically on par with the united states. This launch achieved nothing but a publicity coup for the commies on an unimaginable scale.

Slowly but surely they're scraping their way towards us.

China will be our biggest threat in the future. The EU will never be strong because of their damn bickering and will therefore never be a threat. Unfortunatly, our military is being downsized into more "effiecient" units designed to fight in third world countries.

If we ever get in shooting war with China we'll be screwed.

China cannot wait to take it's future military ambitions to space.

They unlike the Russians are trying to leap frog ahead and will be able to do it because we are handing them the technology to do it.

Russia had to steal our technology in order to compete in many cases, China has been more fortunate.

tell me, how did usa got its space shuttle?, or its RCS calculating technology? even the commanche helicopter is russian

[Edited on 19-10-2003 by SectorGaza]

everybody steals from the other neo.

I see no illuminating answers of the question of why China is going into space now. They could be doing it for "national pride" and being the kind of country it is, I wouldnt doubt that.

My theory is that China sees itself as superpower within the next hundred years, and as well as providing up to three hundred thousand jobs this project will provide a counter to whatever American weapons are up there.

Thoughts...?

You have it all ass backwards dude! The Russians have been stealing western designs since the Soviet Union began. Their bomber technology was stolen from the US by back engineering a B-29 bomber that landed there and they refused to return to the US. Their SST technology was stolen from the Concorde in France. Wake up dude. If the Russians weren't such good technology thieves they would still be flying internal combustion engine powered airplanes.

[Edited on 10-19-2003 by groingrinder]

China needs to stay current in space technology with the US and Russia so they can insure that one or the other does not place beam powered weapons on the moon. If we or Russia places beam powerd weapons on the moon then it would neutralize any manpower advantage that China would have in a conventional conflict.

Remote viewers working for the CIA and private think tanks have "seen" thousands of factories in China making weapons. Factories of slaves toiling away to make weapons for China's eventual attempt at world domination.

I have often wondered what it would be like if China was in space. There would be that huge gap between Mongolia and India. The earth would have more ocean. I dunno I think it would be wierd. I also think that China would have to invest alot of money to be able to stay in space lest they drift to close to earth and be burned. There is alot of ups and downs with it I suppose

Mark

i suppose tu-22 were also western bomber designs? anyway.. i see that it is pointless talking with you about this.

Don't forget that the first country which launched of the man to the orbit was the former Soviet Union.
US keeps ahead only now twenty years in technology.

I would like to see another space race with China getting things going. They could try and put colonies on the moon or maybe even a mission to Mars, if they are serious about space exploration. Our space program is dead we need something like this to revive it.

SG,

pray tell where is Russia's operating space shuttle.

Maybe I have been living under a rock for the past twenty years?

Why do most of you assume that the Chinese are a threat or even wish to pose a threat, just because they put a man in space, what on earth is wrong with you paranoics.

...and I assume the US made the first moon landing...???

Russia had a pretty effective space shuttle that they flew once under computer control, China should buy it off them so they can have an orbiter and maybe it will let our country want to launch our shuttles again.

Why the hurry...going somewhere..??

Theres one is moscow, they turned it into a restaurant.
There are also others in museums.

>>China In Space: How does it affect us?

It will give the US government yet another thing to become paranoid about.