China In Space

[Bunjiweb]

So, China has joined the space race, and what a successful start it was. Done in the traditional Chinese style of keeping it under wraps until it was deemed a success so as not to appear to have failed.

But, is this the start of "Star Wars" or should we be proud as more of the Earth's continents get out of this world?

So, discuss!

Ben

[Maffu]

Proud. Everyone seems to have forgotten about it. I'm glad that China have the balls, and technology to take it to the rest of the world.

I'm sure the technology is there for "us" to live on the moon. I think money and research need to be channelled away from 'causes' and put to something useful for mankind. I'd like to think in a few generations time, space travel can be something obtainable by all, at a price.

[Bunjiweb]

i'd like to think that intersteller co-habitation may be possible in my life time... that's if WW3 doesnt come before that...

Ben

[Maffu]

Heh. Indeed. I keep thinking that we as a race have learnt enough from WW1 and WW2 to not want anymore. I don't think it'll get to that level again, but certain parties are, imo, pushing their luck.

Anyway, as much as I think it'd be possible, interstellar co-habitation won't happen in my lifetime. When did the first man land on the moon? And now, the 3rd country to have had someone in space alone, has just, in 2003, happened.

They'll make a structure, that is habitable, but in terms of "you and me" living there...not in my life time.

[telfer12000]

When JFK committed to putting a man on the moon by the end of the 60s, space was man's last great frontier and tens of billions of dollars were spent getting Armstrong and co onto the surface of a dead satellite (we didn't how dead the moon was until we got there).

OK then the US spent hundreds of billions more until the late seventies when the senate pulled the plug on NASA's budget because no-one was interested anymore (no votes for any president) and the cost was greater than the GNP of most of the world's developed nations.

The space shuttle was good for votes for a while and then, once there had been a couple of terrible tragedies, the public and the polititians lost interest.

Be under no doubt the space race was only ever about presidential votes.

So China which has some of the worst proverty and social deprivation in the world with tens of thousands annually dieing of famine spends God knows what from their GNP developing the capability of putting a man in orbit.

It might have been better if China spent their resources on reducing social deprivation within China.

[spikegifted]

Initially I wasn't sure if I wanted to part take in this discussion, however, I feel there's something I need to get off my chest...

Congratulations to the People's Republic of China. You guys have managed to buy, borrow, steal and robbed sufficient amount of scientific material to launch a man into space. Wasting vast amount of national resources into a propaganda exercise while hundreds of millions of my fellow Chinese live in conditions that can only be described as inhuman.

There is no doubt about it - nearly the entire space program has been taken from the former Soviet Union (or nowadays Russia). I have to give the Communist a big thumbs up for having the balls to do it; but then again, even if the first attempt fails, there's no such thing as bad publicity...

Watch out, the rest of the world! In sending a man into space and manage to have him returned in one piece and still alive demonstrates three things:

1) We have enough technology here to do it and we'll throw enough money at it to make it happen.
2) We want to be a 'super power'; whether you like it or not, we're going to be one. Better not fcuk with us.
3) You know all those nuclear warheads we've stock piled in the last 50 years... Well, if you p!ss us off seriously enough, you may find one (or a few) falling on top of you.

The rest of the world may see thousands of 'very happy' Chinese citizens out in the streets celebrating this event and they've every right to, if they've wanted to. At the same time, I don't think many people in the PRC actually give a monkey whether they've been to the Sun and back - their lives suck! If you can't look after #1, would you care if someone just spend half a day in a tin can in space?

[tonicblue]

No Star Wars