China Makes Space History

[Emperor_Mike]

The first Chinese astronaut is orbiting Earth as I type this following an apparently text-book perfect launch. Good news for most, bad for some depending on your point of view.

http://edition.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/10/15/china.launch/index.html

[d-boy]

that's freakin awesome. i feel vicarious pride as a non-Chinese Asian.

[SunWuKong]

i hope all goes well. most of the process has probably been automated so far. it's the landing that's tricky.

[SunWuKong]

yeah ... i'm sure it will go well.

btw, i read that china will build a spacestation over the next 5 years, followed by unmanned or manned mission to the moon.

i initially thought they would start the mission to the moon ahead of the spacestation (which is a more costly project).

anyway, it looks like the chinese will not dock their future vessels at the russian spacestation.

They'll have their own.

i still think that 5 years is too optimistic. it would probably be in the process of being built, but i'm not too sure about it being entirely finished. as for the moon, i read that within 2 years, they'll start sending probes to it to survey its surface.

[VV o n g B a]

ps: why is it bad news to some???
it's bad news to some in the US for example cuz of national security concerns. but according to the chinese gov't, they have no desire to start an arms race in space. *cough cough*

but anyways, this is history making. congrats to all involved. :beerchug:

[yoMAMA]

As a Chinese person, I'm very proud of this.

Great job Col. Yang and everyone that worked on the Shenzhou project.

Wish him a safe return to earth.

:beerchug:

:cool:

[yoMAMA]

Yeah, but still you have to look things in perspective:

It's just a start, and space exploration benefits all mankind.

[AngryABCGirl]

Zhong to the Hua to the Ming to the Zu hahhahahaha I need to go to class and not waste time.

[SunWuKong]

what national security concerns?

the advances that could come out of this can mean advances in missile technology. it'll also help possibly defeat the WMD shield that the US plans to put up.

[SunWuKong]

but according to the chinese gov't, they have no desire to start an arms race in space.

that is a Cold War reference. before the USSR collapsed, the US and the USSR were in a constant arms race in creating and stockpiling nuclear weapons. they were racing to achieve a clear advantage over the other, and out of being under the scope of "mutually assured destruction". if the US puts up the WMD shield, it gives the US a clear advantage and it can basically do what it wants militarily because it won't be under the scope of "mutually assured destruction". all that China wants is to retain that balance of world powers. if the US builds the WMD shield, China will have to develop something to overcome it. that is what the CCP means when it says that they have no desire to start an arms race.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

China sending a manned flight mission to space after Russia and USA beat them to it by 40 years, and even then a Russian aircraft was used. Yeah, what a great achievement.....(lol)

The money would have been better spent on helping the not so fortunate in their country.

Why are you still here again, boy? :laugh:

[Faithless]

They say that the Chinese were supposed to be over the SF bay area at 6:00 this morn. Too much frigging fog.

Maybe, when they get really good, they can take a trip to the moon and see if our flag is really there.

[thaite]

I wanna try some that specially-prepared space Chinese food.

[SunWuKong]

China sending a manned flight mission to space after Russia and USA beat them to it by 40 years, and even then a Russian aircraft was used. Yeah, what a great achievement.....(lol)

The money would have been better spent on helping the not so fortunate in their country.


Why are you still here again, boy? :laugh:

well, he makes a good point about money. this is a common gripe amongst some people in China, also. they think that all that money could be better used for the poor in China.

as for it being a "great achievement", well being 3rd in space is "greater" than being 4th, or 5th, or 6th, etc etc etc. :)

[deez nuts]

China sending a manned flight mission to space after Russia and USA beat them to it by 40 years, and even then a Russian aircraft was used. Yeah, what a great achievement.....(lol)

The money would have been better spent on helping the not so fortunate in their country.


i agree

hello and welcome to last week, guys.

[VV o n g B a]

The money would have been better spent on helping the not so fortunate in their country.
the same could be said about building any monument for any reason in any country at any time in human history. there's always going to be poor ppl around. that's a false argument. this is especially true of those massive cathedrals. the money put into construction for those things could have been donated to the poor. but i'm glad they didn't b/c they are some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring sights i've ever seen.

it IS an achievement b/c only 2 other countries in the past 40 yrs have had the money and political will/ambition necessary to accomplish what has just been accomplished. u gotta look at the goals that china is trying to achieve here. first of all, they get name recognition. they may be third in line, but at least they are there. and they are there at a time when the 2 previous entrants have let their space programs dwindle. the chinese program is positively vibrant compared to the others... even if they come off as a bit naive in their stated goals. second, they improve their technology. believe it or not, significant pieces of the vessel were constructed by the chinese on their own b/c they didn't want to pay the prices the russians wanted to charge them for the tech. their solutions differed noticably from previous russian and US designs. this has both commercial and military applications. third, it creates nationalistic feelings. a significant piece of this is simply a PR stunt. it gives a reason for chinese to overlook other gov't shortcomings. at least for a little while. and based on the majority of feelings expressed on this board, they haven't done too bad a job.

[SunWuKong]

yeah, i don't know one Chinese person, even here in the US, that didn't know about this within hours of it happening.

[kimpossible]

I wanna try some that specially-prepared space Chinese food.

It's called instant noodles.

[thaite]

D'oh, is that all he's eating? I was thinking of something more elaborate, like dim sum served by a green-skinned alien girl.

[yoMAMA]

Apparently Gagalin wasn't the first dude to going to space...or trying to, for that matter.

Check this dude out, he is one true pioneer!

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/09/30/china.wanhu/index.html :bomb2:

[deez nuts]

now if a big asteroid ever threatens earth's very existence just like in the movie armaggeddon; we can now count on the chinese!

plus if the remote detonation system fails and someone has to stay on the asteroid and detonate it, a chinaman can do it. it's just like the old days when we were building them railroads. it's in our blood. plus, heh there's another billion+ of us strong.

[yoMAMA]

now if a big asteroid ever threatens earth's very existence just like in the movie armaggeddon; we can now count on the chinese!

plus if the remote detonation system fails and someone has to stay on the asteroid and detonate it, a chinaman can do it. it's just like the old days when we were building them railroads. it's in our blood. plus, heh there's another billion+ of us strong.

Sorry, you ain't gonna take away bruce wills' job!

:licka:

[deez nuts]

Sorry, you ain't gonna take away bruce wills' job!

:licka:


save yourself.

i'll blow this rock up.

[ChinaLama]

the same could be said about building any monument for any reason in any country at any time in human history. there's always going to be poor ppl around. that's a false argument. this is especially true of those massive cathedrals. the money put into construction for those things could have been donated to the poor. but i'm glad they didn't b/c they are some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring sights i've ever seen.


So, to summarize, "I don't give a shit all these poor fucks suffered and died cuz now people far better off whose biggest encounter with suffering was deciding what clothes to buy get to look at some pretty buildings. ohhhh shiny colored glass..."

Sorry WB, had to take that. :)

[Blue dice]

I'm tired of people that say that China is 40 years too late blah blah. Uh, first of all China's current government and economy has only been around for about 50 years. 40 years ago the PRC was barely a fledgling government trying to repair a country on the brink of disaster. There's no way they could compete for that main reason. However in 50 years time they've accomplished a lot without the tremendous trial and error fuckups that the USSR went through. They didn't have to starve 3/4's of their population to accomplish that goal either. To me it's a remarkable achievement for a nation to put someone in space in that short amount of time, especially when China's future was so uncertain less than 50 years ago.

[purezero]

Man! School makes you less informed. I'm so behind on the times/"current" events.

This launch is an important achievement in the history of human exploration. China, after Russia and the United States, is only the third nation to successfully launch humans into space.

"The Chinese people have a long and distinguished history of exploration. NASA wishes China a continued safe human space flight program.

http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2003/oct/HQ_03333_china.html
I think that it's cool that China was able to launch someone into space. I mean, it doesn't seem like China is doing it to beat out any country (but what would I know about their intentions). They're the third to do it, yeah, they did it 40 years after Russia and the US, but at least they did it, right?

:boldred:

[yoMAMA]

Yeah, China is a rising dragon, that's for sure.

That littleman from Corsica's prediction was right. :D

[ism]

China Completes Mission - Astronaut Returns Safely (http://www.spacedaily.com/news/china-03zo.html)

I'm glad to see some competition in space. Commercially, if someone wants to launch a satellite and maintain it, there's another player now. EU is coordinating their space effort, and Asia's got one now too. Hopefully this will invigorate the U.S. space program.

gg China.

[SunWuKong]

I'm tired of people that say that China is 40 years too late blah blah. Uh, first of all China's current government and economy has only been around for about 50 years. 40 years ago the PRC was barely a fledgling government trying to repair a country on the brink of disaster. There's no way they could compete for that main reason. However in 50 years time they've accomplished a lot without the tremendous trial and error fuckups that the USSR went through. They didn't have to starve 3/4's of their population to accomplish that goal either. To me it's a remarkable achievement for a nation to put someone in space in that short amount of time, especially when China's future was so uncertain less than 50 years ago.

i don't know what fraction of their population it was back then, but China did starve 30 million of its people to death in the late 50s.

[SunWuKong]

China Completes Mission - Astronaut Returns Safely (http://www.spacedaily.com/news/china-03zo.html)

I'm glad to see some competition in space. Commercially, if someone wants to launch a satellite and maintain it, there's another player now. EU is coordinating their space effort, and Asia's got one now too. Hopefully this will invigorate the U.S. space program.

gg China.

i think China is actually helping the EU in its space program.

[boredlikewah]

kinda off-topic, but have you guys heard those conspiracy theories that says that landing on the moon was all a hoax? that it never really happened?

[Tao]

kinda off-topic, but have you guys heard those conspiracy theories that says that landing on the moon was all a hoax? that it never really happened?

yeah, and they gave some good evidence as proof. i beleive i saw it on 20/20 or one of those other news magazines once.

[Ogumo]

If it really happened japanese could use the new satelite to see the landing site. That could prove it.

[SunWuKong]

If it really happened japanese could use the new satelite to see the landing site. That could prove it.

of course, the CIA or NSA would find out about that and intervene. :p

[Blue dice]

i don't know what fraction of their population it was back then, but China did starve 30 million of its people to death in the late 50s.
Yeah but it was during the cultural revolution. What I meant was China didn't starve 3/4's of the population in order to scrape the money together to fund a monolithic space program like the USSR did.

[Ogumo]

of course, the CIA or NSA would find out about that and intervene. :p


Haha so true. This is probably why it wont happen. If it did america probably would deny it and then come up with a ridiculous story to take the peoples attention off of it. "japs conspire with aliens on conquest of fiji"

[SunWuKong]

Yeah but it was during the cultural revolution. What I meant was China didn't starve 3/4's of the population in order to scrape the money together to fund a monolithic space program like the USSR did.

no. that was during the Great Leap Forward. 30 million people starved to death so China can produce (not enough) steel.

[boredlikewah]

yeah.. crazy evidence like how the flag is "blowing in the wind" when there isn't supposed to be wind up there. there are very few stars in the pictures of SPACE. and the footprint of the astronaut is so prominent but none of the spacecrafts made any mark. weird.. conspiracies...

[Ogumo]

There are people that are saying that china should have used the money for other things. I don't agree with that. I think china did the right thing when it sent this man into space. This will only inspire chinese people and bring a positive effect to the people. So I wont down china on spending money on a space project. The money could have went to worse places....

[Blue dice]

no. that was during the Great Leap Forward. 30 million people starved to death so China can produce (not enough) steel.
You're right, I stand corrected.

[BeTheReds]

If it really happened japanese could use the new satelite to see the landing site. That could prove it.


Nope, the landing took place on the part of the moon which never faces the Earth. The only way to actually take a picture of the landing sight would be to fly to the other side of the moon.

[SunWuKong]

Nope, the landing took place on the part of the moon which never faces the Earth. The only way to actually take a picture of the landing sight would be to fly to the other side of the moon.


oh sure. how convenient. :D

[ModernLogic]

This is for those who criticize the extravagance of China's space launch instead of feeding/housing the poor.

Anyone who has taken economics knows that it is ultimately technology that drives up standards of living. China's space lauch is ultimately an investment in technology. It will no doubt spillover scientific advances in electronics, chemical sciences, robotics, etc. This will ultimately boost China's economy in the long-run.

Here's a good analogy: It's kind of like throwing a science fair at school. While there's very little practical use in the science projects themselves, the lessons learned from making them will help students achieve success in other fields.

[AliBabaIncorporated]

Anyone who has taken economics knows that it is ultimately technology that drives up standards of living. China's space lauch is ultimately an investment in technology.
Uh yeah, decades-old Soviet technology. Even for those of us who were happy to see the launch, we don't want to hear this condescending "anyone who has taken economics would support this position," the same subtle ad hominem argument I have seen you use before. Economics also tells us that the free market China's leaders claim to have embraced is more efficient at directing investment and quickly liquidating malinvestment than central planners with limited information. Whenever you see the government spending money, remember: a private actor could have done it with less waste.

[Emperor_Mike]

Yeah, China is a rising dragon, that's for sure.

That littleman from Corsica's prediction was right. :D


Napoleon! Yes! I remember that quote. I think I have it in my "Archives of Inspirational Quotations." Not entirely sure...

[Emperor_Mike]

On topic, I think it's good news. Now that the Chinese are "space capable" perhaps it will lead to bigger and better things as far as international cooperation in this sphere of science is concerned. Putting all talks of space races and weapons aside, this recent development may prove to benefit humanity in many ways.

[ModernLogic]

Uh yeah, decades-old Soviet technology. Even for those of us who were happy to see the launch, we don't want to hear this condescending "anyone who has taken economics would support this position," the same subtle ad hominem argument I have seen you use before. Economics also tells us that the free market China's leaders claim to have embraced is more efficient at directing investment and quickly liquidating malinvestment than central planners with limited information. Whenever you see the government spending money, remember: a private actor could have done it with less waste.

From what I've read, the rocket was domestically designed with the exception of the re-entry shuttle which was a modification of the Russian equivalent. But I assume your next move in your attempt to undermine China's prestige would be to claim this as nothing more than ChiCom Propaganda. In which case, I will respond with: "Whatever."

As for anyone who has taken economics, they would know what I'm talking about. I didn't intend any condescension with that remark. Perhaps you're imposing your own attitudes on me.

I don't think a privatized space sector is possible. The initial costs would be too high for any private firm to establish.

[VV o n g B a]

I don't think a privatized space sector is possible. The initial costs would be too high for any private firm to establish.
i gotta agree with ali here. it's totally possible. those firms just need the right incentives.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/10/17/xprize.contest/

[VV o n g B a]

So, to summarize, "I don't give a shit all these poor fucks suffered and died cuz now people far better off whose biggest encounter with suffering was deciding what clothes to buy get to look at some pretty buildings. ohhhh shiny colored glass..."

Sorry WB, had to take that. :)
no need to apologize. that's just about right actually. ;)

[SunWuKong]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3194892.stm

China hails space hero

China's first astronaut has landed back on Earth to a hero's welcome after an historic mission in which he orbited the globe 14 times.

The Shenzhou 5 craft touched down on Thursday morning in northern China, 21 hours after being rocketed into space.

Astronaut Yang Liwei emerged from the capsule saying: "I'm feeling good. I'm proud of my motherland," before being whisked away to meet political leaders in the capital Beijing.

Chinese officials said the next goals in the country's space programme would be to set up a space laboratory and a space station.

Yang Liwei's return fulfils China's bid to become only the third country to send a man into space, after the former Soviet Union and the United States.

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao sent his congratulations and hailed the mission "a complete success" after speaking with Yang.

Accolades from around the world poured in.

In the United States, Nasa administrator Sean O'Keefe described it as an important achievement.

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said space exploration knew no national borders, "the mission of the Shenzhou 5 is a step forward for all mankind".

Next step

As well as planning for a future space station, Chinese officials also hoped to launch Shenzhou 6 before the end of 2005, said Xie Mingbao, director of the manned space office.

"The development of manned space technology has great significance of improving China's overall national strength and its international influence [and] boosting the sense of national pride," said the manned space engineering office in a statement.

The BBC's Louisa Lim in Beijing says the country's leaders will be hoping this first successful manned flight will promote patriotism and rally the nation.

Yang Liwei, the 38-year-old fighter pilot in the People's Liberation Army, had left Earth a virtual unknown.

Emerging from the capsule to cheers from more than 600 locals, his name is now on the lips of the world.

Emergence

BBC correspondents found Beijingers from all walks of life hailing the mission as a sign of China's emergence as a force to be reckoned with on the world stage.

"China has always been the superpower, and now, with a big step forward, we can hear the sound: we are back!" one man told BBC News Online.

"Now [the world] will realise that we don't only make clothes and shoes," said another.

The same feelings of triumph could be found on popular internet sites such as Sina.com.

"Today is your holiday, my motherland," wrote one anonymous commentator.

But there were also those who were less impressed.

"What are you so foolishly happy about?" asked one.

"Go to the countryside and see how many people there care about this. Ask them what's more important, earning a yuan or sending up a spacecraft?"

And then there were those who missed out on the whole thing.

"Shenzhou what? Never heard of it," said an 18-year-old potato vendor in the northern province of Hebei.

[Napoleon Chynamite]

"Shenzhou what? Never heard of it," said an 18-year-old potato vendor in the northern province of Hebei.

rofl

I guess that's akin to me being completely oblivious as to how to label all the states on the east coast, not to insinuate that the east coast or anybody over there is important or anything.

[SunWuKong]

Man in space - a new chapter

By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editor

The launch of a Chinese astronaut marks a new chapter in manned space exploration and it is full of uncertainties and possibilities.

With this mission, China has made a bold move and expressed its space intentions at a time when the US space effort has major problems, and the Russian programme is in decline.

So although Yang Liwei is only the 431st person to go into space, his flight looks forward to a new future.

By the time China hosts the Olympics in 2008, it may have a small man-tended space station in orbit, with live greetings from orbit to the competitors.

How China's image is about to change.

Fading Russia

Its Shenzhou capsule, although based on the tried and tested Russian Soyuz spacecraft, is more advanced. China has learnt from the spaceflight experience of others, and technology has improved in the past 40 years.

This means that Shenzhou is far more capable than the craft that first took Americans and Russians into space - the Mercury and Vostok capsules.

The first man in space - Yuri Gagarin - spent one hour and 48 minutes aloft. The first American in space - Alan Shepard - spent just 15 minutes above the Earth. Yang Liwei will spend 22 hours.

Although Soyuz is a highly capable space vehicle, it is operated by a declining space power which can barely afford to keep the vehicle operating to and from the International Space Station (ISS).

In the present situation, one cannot conceive of Russia building a space station like Mir - which it let crash to Earth for want of money - for a long time.

Better and better

Shenzhou is certainly not the US space shuttle, but that is a project with its own problems.

The shuttle fleet is grounded, possibly until late next year, and the US space agency (Nasa) is trying to revitalise its efforts to build a shuttle successor.

One of the spacecraft that Nasa will develop will probably be smaller and less sophisticated than the shuttle, to be used as a ferry craft for the ISS.

Shenzhou will then compare favourably with it. With time, China's achievement will look better and better.

China's plans to assemble modules in space, to make man-tended platforms, will also take the emphasis away from the US and Russia - especially Russia.

Yang Liwei flew solo, the first solo space mission since the Soviet Soyuz 4 in 1969, but we know Shenzhou can carry three passengers.

What is next?

In the future, it is not unreasonable to think that China could fly guest astronauts like the Soviets did in the past, or even paying customers as the Russians have recently done.

It has been said that the US would never allow Shenzhou to dock with the ISS. There are orbital difficulties precluding a link-up at present but they could be overcome and Shenzhou has a compatible docking system.

Also, given what happened to Columbia, perhaps it is time for the three space faring nations to develop a mutual aid policy should there be a space emergency.

Some media outlets have reported that China may launch a manned mission to the Moon.

This is far-fetched, at least for the next decade, but beyond that, after 10 years of Shenzhou operations and experience, who knows?

So Yang Liwei goes into the history books, and the future of manned spaceflight has new possibilities.

[SunWuKong]

you would have thought that the people on this board would be more proud of an Asian American made a trip to space a few month ago. oh well, i guess feeling margalinized does'nt do the chinese community any good...

nope sorry. i'm definitely more proud that China sent its first man to space.

[yoMAMA]

I think if you think about space, it's about less of 'us vs them', since we are all earthlings to the aliens, and we all look alike to them anyways :D:p

[SunWuKong]

hey no need to apologize. china is thataway so why don't you go back there if you love the country so much (jk) personally, if i hated america i would have left america a long time ago.


actually i am planning on going back to China (HK to be exact). but no, i don't hate America. i just like it better over there.