Is Anyone Watching?
Posted by StormWarning on 29 Sep 2008 at 08:03 pm | Tagged as: Uncategorized
Perhaps unnoticed is that yesterday a capsule carrying China’s taikonauts (astronauts) returned from their historic space ride and space walk, becoming the third country to accomplish this feat.
First to emerge from the toppled capsule, Zhia Zhigang commented that he was “proud of his motherland” as he was helped to a folding chair. Clearly exhausted after a taxing mission, a bumpy re-entry through the Earth’s atmosphere, and the rigours of gravitational adjustment, the crew were then set upon by doctors eager to check their conditions.
In addressing his watching nation, Premier Wen Jiabao heartily congratulated the triumphant mission crew and said that: “The complete success of the manned Shenzhou VII is a great stride forward for China’s space technology.”
Anyone want to doubt the significance of the emerged China accomplishing a spacewalk?
Think again.
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You know I’m not a conspiracy theorist, and there are many out there on America’s space program, the moon walk, September 11, 2001…
However, the report of this space vehicle taking off ran in the media a full day BEFORE the thing even took off. Which leads me to take anything China puts out with a small grain of salt. I’m not questioning that it happened 99.9%, but that other .1%???
China is an emerging space power. I have that on very good counsel.
Time to get off the rock people.
If we don’t properly fund NASA, we are going to find that Mars is going to have a permanently Chinese majority. The benefits for the Earth would be many as well (especially to help fight global warming).
If it takes a nationalistic competition to get going again, so be it.
To me personally, the Chinese spacewalk was overshadowed by the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon 1. ( This is the direct result of a nationalistic competition, the X Prize, hence the name. ) Private contractors can do the heavy lifting at a small fraction of what it costs NASA, ESA, Russia, or even China. As the private sector developes, it should leave NASA with a more experimental role than provider. If that happens, then I truly doubt China will be able to outpace US technologically. The way things have gone the last fifty years, the US is the one that keeps generating new technologies, China is the one that can build those new ideas cheaper. That won’t help much in space. Especially if the Chinese will be competing against people like Elon Musk ( Paypal, SpaceX ) or Sir Richard Branson ( Virgin empire, Virgin Galactic ). Once space travel goes viral in the public sector, the innovations NASA was never allowed to pursue due to red tape and a too rigid management style will most likely be pursued in the private sector, especially if there is a profit to be made. It is that capitolistic aspect that will leave the Russias and Chinese in the dust.
I enjoyed seeing the Chinese in space. As we have proven over the last thirty years, having a man in space makes for good tv and that’s about it. As far as looking for something to be afraid of, the SBD’s ( silent but deadly ) are the scary stuff. No country shows that on tv tho, and they never will. However, the Chinese have been launching satellites ( and other stuff ) since 1970.
So, the big picture is that nothing really has changed.
Personally, I’ve been paying more attention to my disintegrating stock portfolio.
Ortho, that gives you an advantage. Mine disintegrated in 2000 and never recovered.