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China shelves plan for astronauts on moon
Plan for manned space station to move forwardChina plans to build its own manned space station by around 2020 but has shelved plans to put a man on the moon for financial reasons, state media quoted the chief designer of the nationâs space program as saying. A whiff of sanity or just the stark realization that $250 BILLION worth of bad bank debt has painted them into a rather constrained financial corner? Wang Yongzhi, godfather of the mission that completed its first manned flight successfully last year, said the permanent station would take about 15 years to complete, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a Beijing newspaper. "China will also conduct a lunar orbiting program," Wang told a gathering of high school students on Sunday, the Beijing News reported. But contrary to previously announced plans, the 72-year-old said the lunar probe would not land a man on the moon. China rocketed ex-fighter pilot Yang Liwei into orbit around Earth in October, becoming only the third nation in space after the former Soviet Union and the United States and fuelling bigger dreams of galactic exploration. Officials of the highly secretive program have made vague reference to a future space station but the timeline projected by Wang was believed to be the most specific to date. China has welcomed international cooperation in its space station. I donât see where thereâs much prestige to be gained from any participation with Chinaâs Spam-in-a-can aerospace technology. It was unclear if plans to forge ahead on its own were influenced by recent signs the United States might not want China to join the 16-nation, $95 billion International Space Station. So long as China maintains itâs aggressive posture in Asia, it should rightfully be shut out from gaining any expertise in aerospace technology at ourâs or anyone elseâs expense. Chinese space officials were "shocked" the United States had not done more to welcome them into the small community of space-faring nations, a leading U.S. expert said last month after a trip to China. Quite fitting considering how Americaâs space program is civilian. The United States harbors concerns that the army-run Chinese program could some day pose a threat to U.S. dominance in military satellite communications. In light of Chinaâs overt aggression in Tibet and constant saber-rattling over Taiwan such concerns are not just predictable but obligatory. Posted by: Zenster 2004-05-18 |
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