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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: China's space program?
With the US pretty much done for now, how far is China into space program? Is it important to the country or not at all?
12 years 47 weeks ago in Web & Technology - China
I think sometimes we must learn things the hard way and China is learning what a waste of money a space program really is. I have heard they will build a moon station.l
It‘s a way to wast money for sure and also for China I feel the government just wants to show off and also if u have it in America why don’t we have it in China thing……
But I don't really have the right to say this, as my brother gets paid somehow related to this……
Waste of money?
China now has a killer laser satellite because of its space program.
No one can match this weapon for now.
Eventually we are going to use up all the resources here on this planet, so we will need resources from space. For some it might look like a waste of time and money when more immediate problems face China, but if China is going to keep growing and keep its power in the future it will need a lot of resources.
In the end going into space is a better choice than killing each other over resources.
Being among the world power,it is important if not for the people but for the Government.
I remember back in 2006, when the two Chinese astronauts went into space, all lessons in the middle school I was teaching in stopped, and every television was showing their broadcast from space. They were crowned as national heroes, because finally China had 'made it'.
Ever since the 60s space race between the Ruskies and the Yanks, it's been a mark of a country's national pride and prestige to get gimps floating about in space, spending billions of dollar just to do so. There's not much else we've learnt from it, other than how to intimidate other countries and be smug about our human 'achievements'.
What a crock of shi.... I'd love to see some of these countries spending the same money exploring the bottom of the ocean, where there is far more to be learnt about our history, our planet, our futile existence.
Supposedly, China's current space plan is to have an uncrewed exploration of Mars over the next two decades, and a crewed one around 2050, so it's definitely on the agenda.
Now all they need to make sure of is making their rockets safer than their trains...
Hundreds of millions of poor, shit infrastructure, poor medical facilities in rural areas (smaller cities where 70% of the population live) and still receiving aid as a "developing" nation.... SHAME!!!! Wasting money on a space program rather than choosing to improve peoples lives! SHAME!!!
I get what you're saying Njord, but you can't dismiss space exploration all together. And really, China's got the money. Whether it spends that money on space exploration or not doesn't matter. Why? Because they'd still spend it on something other than improving medical facilities, etc...
I'd rather see that money put to SOME use, rather than fuel more corruption.
Frankly though, with the state of affairs in China at the moment, I don't see space exploration working for China in the short term. When you look at all the scandals, the faked diplomas (numerous pilots faked their diplomas), the safety measures taken here, etc...you just know it's gonna take time for China to come up with something solid.
Coincidentally, China launched an experimental satellite last Thursday, which failed to enter the designated orbit due to some random malfunction. Fail.
There's gonna be the country's first space-docking mission later this year. Tiangong-1 or something. We'll see how that goes.
I for one would welcome our new Chinese space overlords.
Seriously though, this is a case of ego, pride, showing that you can match the States and sending out a message of power. What makes you think they WOULDN'T go ahead with a space program?
Any breakthroughs or discoveries they make would be like strutting in front of the international scene flexing the nation's flaky biceps while simultaneously sticking a tongue out at the USA for falling behind.
It's sad, but at the same time it's not all bad.
USA falling behind? Because the 30 year old shuttles retired?
Next-gen will be ready in 2015. Google "Orion" and the SEV (it's a transforming truck/spaceship) plus there are 4 commercial companies developing new craft.
The Chinese government just wants the world and its own people to take it seriously. That's why it wastes vast amounts of resources on it's own space program rather than cooperate with other space-faring countries. It wants to build its own space station and a lunar base to learn what the West and Russia have known for decades. That will cost hundreds of billions of dollars, maybe even trillions. All to do things that have been done before.
No, the US is still far ahead of China. The US retired its space shuttles and is letting private enterprise develop the first spaceports and more advanced shuttles so they can be contracted to do most of the heavy lifting later on when the US constructs a permanent space settlement. It will be cheaper and more efficient for the country. The more ya know!
It is quite amusing to see China taking its time with all the setbacks on the Tiangong-1 though. Maybe the recent train accidents and revelations of hasty construction are encouraging Chinese authorities to double-check quality standards.
China's space program has the potential of inflating China's ego, but it also has the potential to absolutely destroy it too. Imagine the news here if their stuff up in space started blowing up or massively malfunctioning.
An almost hilarious thought.
roquefort: they simply would not let the chinese people know or they'll blame it foreign influence
if a rocket ever blows up, they will say it never happened, their was never a rocket to begin with and you should t think about it. block every website except xinhua news. that will have stories to praise the lovely fireworks show that was put up for the people by the nice folks in the government. 2 days later the chinese will forget about it. and never question it.
"The reality is, I think there's an enormous payback that comes from investing in space," Roger Launius, space history curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. "But it may be at a level that's less tangible and more macro when we trace a technology."
→ Msnbc.msn.com
For the PRC, the ability to secure space dominance and to deny it to an opponent will likely become an increasingly important part of their national security planning.