[willed]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asi...ic/3192330.stm


A new space race?

[Naz]

Nope

no race at all the U.S. is not up to the challenge, we are too busy spending billions looking for Saddam and what ever that other guys name is that got away long ago. (you know the talytubby leader)

but I for one can't wait for Pork Friend Rice and Chicken Wings at a take-out Joint on the Moon!

GO CHINA!

[Misanthrope]

Originally posted by Naz:
Nope

no race at all the U.S. is not up to the challenge, we are too busy spending billions looking for Saddam and what ever that other guys name is that got away long ago. (you know the talytubby leader)

but I for one can't wait for Pork Friend Rice and Chicken Wings at a take-out Joint on the Moon!

GO CHINA!

oh ok

(hint hint: the US has a massive ego which has a tendency of motivating it to usually be #1. Yes, this will probably rekindle the space race.)

[mitchell_pgh]

Space is old news... They have just put a person in space, something we did over 25+ years ago...

I think we are ahead of them by a good bit...

The US does like to be #1

(regarding going to other countries to look for people... we could always close our borders like every other country seems to have done long ago)

[m a d r a]

the european space agency are off to the moon and will apparently be using an "ion drive" for most of the journey. probably a more scientifically challenging mission than china's earth orbiting men. but the fact that [like all ESA's missions] this is an unmanned jaunt, means no headlines for us lot. i guess there's no human interest in a load of electronic circuits "boldly going..."

space race [tech]
1. USA
2. europe
3. russia
4. china

space race [manned]
1. USA
2. russia
3. china

<jingoism> go europe! </jingoism>

[ambush]

Go China!

Go CCCP!

[wolfen]

That's pretty cool. Good for them! Go China, it's ya birthday!


wolfen

(Once told by a psychic that he was a 6th c. chinese warlord.)

[Face Ache]

Australia will be launching the Wombat 2 as soon as Big Kev gets over his dose of gastro.

[Meneldil]

Well, I've heard several of people (both here and in other countries) talking about a serious possibilty that China could make it to the moon by the end of the decade or very soon afterwards. They've gained a huge technological leap from the Russians, and their first manned capsule is actually much more advanced than either Russia's or America's first capsule. It's very similar to the Russian Soyuz capsule in appearance and layout, though they aren't saying much about the internal systems. Hopefully the possibility of the commies on the moon will make the US more interested in going back.

Also, even if the EU mission is unmanned, it'll be a huge boost to manned exploration by other countries if they get the ion drive working. It would allow ships to go further on a smaller amount of fuel, as well as being less dangerous, as I understand it, because the propellant isn't explosive.

[voodoo]

Iceland is preparing its PUFFIN1 spacecraft that will travel to the Martian polar caps. Because we like it in that latitude.

[mitchell_pgh]

I think the idea of the moon no longer appeals to the new generation of Americans. We want Mars...

[DigitalEl]

Welcome to the 60s, China!

[Mars_Attacks]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
We want Mars...

I bet you do.

[amsalpemkcus]

whats the big deal about this, I dont understand! chuck something with escape velocity and surely it will go to space. and then steal or buy some outdated technology to bring the craft back. hoooray! mission accomplished! guess they just want to sell this "motherland" bullcrap to their own people, ah well I guess it after all has a purpose!

Anyway, hope the chinese "universe traveller" plunges back safely!

Will be sooo pissed if he splashes down in my pool!

[Meneldil]

He's aiming for Inner Mongolia. Nothing there but sheep.

Baaaa... *Splat*

[voodoo]

I WANT SPACE RACE !! I WANT SPACE RACE !!

[Eug]

Impressive. China is making huge leaps and bounds in its quest to obtain and develop technology.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by amsalpemkcus:
whats the big deal about this, I dont understand! chuck something with escape velocity and surely it will go to space. and then steal or buy some outdated technology to bring the craft back. hoooray! mission accomplished!

I understand the real difficulty lies in not having anything blow up at any of those stages.

-s*

[amsalpemkcus]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
I understand the real difficulty lies in not having anything blow up at any of those stages.-s*

why would that happen when you are using well tested technology that was developed by the rooskies?

[CheesePuff]

bah, we never went to the moon.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by amsalpemkcus:
why would that happen when you are using well tested technology that was developed by the rooskies?

Good question.

How many Space Shuttles did NASA own again?

-s*

[Mazter-J]

China only spent 10 years on space program so far, and we did it on our first shot.
what's better than this?

reading some replies of this post make me uncomfortable.

P.S. obviously i am a Chinese.

[nobitacu]

Great, China just found more ways to spy on the US. j/k, they can already do that.

But really, good for them if they want to use this to futher help to make mankind better.

Ming

[Krypton]

Originally posted by mitchell_pgh:
We want Mars...

That is where China is hoping to go once they're up to speed - that is what is going to rekindle the space race

[digimage]

Originally posted by Mazter-J:
China only spent 10 years on space program so far, and we did it on our first shot.
what's better than this?

reading some replies of this post make me uncomfortable.

P.S. obviously i am a Chinese.

Well, would China have done it in 10 years and on the first shot if no one else had first?

Doubtful. But possible. China does make some good stuff.

[typoon]

This is a great leap forward for China. Hopefully the three space going countries can work together to advance the space movement.

[Spliffdaddy]

A proud day for China.

Their government still scares me because of their apparent lack of ballz. Anything with the potential for failure is ALWAYS hidden from view until it's proven successful.

Only a weak leadership would need to hide from failure.

[Sealobo]

Originally posted by Spliffdaddy:
A proud day for China.

Their government still scares me because of their apparent lack of ballz. Anything with the potential for failure is ALWAYS hidden from view until it's proven successful.

Only a weak leadership would need to hide from failure.

It's a way of control, and it has nothing to do with weak leadership. It's amazing how the communist party, which is not elected by the people of the country, to rule a population of 1.3 billion. If it's not the June-4th incident at the Square, the communist's control and transformation into the new century could be flawless.

For China to re-emerge as a world superpower, the intergrity of its people has to be ensure. However, we still have a long long way to go. In the 20th century China spent too much time on internal political struggle, while the rest of the world advanced multiple folds in various fronts. As of today, i don't see how China can catch up with the US (technology, welfare, education, productivity per head etc) in the next 50 years. However, in terms of bargaining power and economic power as a whole, China will be on par with the US in 2-3 decades.

(proud to be a Chinese )

Originally posted by m a d r a:

space race [manned]
1. USA
2. russia
3. china

Is that in number of missions or who was there first? If it was who was there first, 1 and 2 are in the wrong order.

[King Bob On The Cob]

China went the correct way when they became a open market economy instead of trying to have absolute control over everything like the USSR. (Or at least that's what the History Channel said when it was talking about Shanghai.)

[osiris]

Originally posted by voodoo:
I WANT SPACE RACE !! I WANT SPACE RACE !!

Me too. Time for an endeavor that stimulates humanity.

Go China!

[nonhuman]

Originally posted by hayesk:
Is that in number of missions or who was there first? If it was who was there first, 1 and 2 are in the wrong order.

Actually, both lists would be in the wrong order. The Soviet Union was the first to get into space (Sputnik) and was also the first to get life into space (Sputnik II) and the first to get men into space (don't remember the name) and the first to attempt a manned moon landing (also don't remember the name). The US lost, so they redefined the race as getting a man on the moon, which they won at.

[wdlove]

Originally posted by Mazter-J:
China only spent 10 years on space program so far, and we did it on our first shot.
what's better than this?

reading some replies of this post make me uncomfortable.

P.S. obviously i am a Chinese.

Congratulations to China, welcome to the space age. I think that you have ever reason to be proud. Just wish is had been live. The US also put a man into space on the 1st try, live world wide. Alan Shephard made is proud!

[korn]

Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space (well, the first one we know about)

China will take very very soon become no 1 in the space race, no doubt about it.

[Sealobo]

I remember watching a TV show that talks about the US Moon Landing program... a senior space program engineer said that it was a serious challenge because they're heading into many uncertainties. However, in terms of technology, a modern road vehicle, say the BMW 7-series, is far more technological advanced then the rocket they sent towards the moon.

[voodoo]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
Good question.

How many Space Shuttles did NASA own again?

-s*

Lesseee now...

First shuttle they made was the Columbia, the second one was Challenger....

5?

[bracken]

Originally posted by Misanthrope:
(hint hint: the US has a massive ego which has a tendency of motivating it to usually be #1. Yes, this will probably rekindle the space race.)

China doesn't have a massive ego? What kind of world do you live in? Good grief.

Anyways... Welcome to the last century, China.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by wdlove:
Congratulations to China, welcome to the space age. I think that you have ever reason to be proud. Just wish is had been live. The US also put a man into space on the 1st try, live world wide. Alan Shephard made is proud!

Thank you for not saying John Glenn.

Credit where credit is due - Alan B. Shepard was indeed the first American in space.

Oh, and the first man in space was Yuri Gagarin. He actually orbited, which NASA didn't attempt until John Glenn's flight.

-s*

[bracken]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
Credit where credit is due - Alan B. Shepard was indeed the first American in space.

Oh, and the first man in space was Yuri Gagarin. He actually orbited, which NASA didn't attempt until John Glenn's flight.

-s*

He didn't say Alan Shepard was the first man in space. He said, "The US also put a man into space on the 1st try, live world wide. Alan Shephard made is proud!"

God.

[catsank]

Space programs are a byproduct of military
missile programs and spy satellite technology
development.

Does anyone remember the bush administrations
all-out hard ball foreign policy ?

China considers Taiwan to be a breakaway
province and is always ready to invade.

Does anyone remember north korea ?

Does anyone remember the china
of tiananmen square ?

This is not a benign news item.

But if you feel it is -
A fun question for you : could you see the great
wall of china if you were standing on the
moon ?

[wifedoer68]

I heard that they were using a lot of russian technology. Woop de freaking do. If Bill Gates wanted to buy a bunch of outdated capsule style space equipment, he could make it into space also. Who cares?

Wake me up when they make a shuttle or something that hasn't been done over 25 years ago.



- Ca$h

[Gene Jockey]

Originally posted by Meneldil:
their first manned capsule is actually much more advanced than either Russia's or America's first capsule.

Well, considering the first American and Soviet capsules were made ~45 years ago I should hope the ones the Chinese are using are more advanced.

And having read the article, it's always classy to see someone "doing it for the glory of the motherland". Good on you, China. Don't let the abject failure of your political system everywhere else in the world keep you from glory.

--J

[quandarry]

that's great...now we'll have chinese crap falling on our heads too...

by the way was there a plan for this thing to bring this guy back?

[catsank]

Originally posted by Gene Jockey:
Well, considering the first American and Soviet capsules were made ~45 years ago I should hope the ones the Chinese are using are more advanced.

And having read the article, it's always classy to see someone "doing it for the glory of the motherland". Good on you, China. Don't let the abject failure of your political system everywhere else in the world keep you from glory.

--J

Literally close to a billion impoverished citizens
and the government has a multi-billion dollar
space program for a PR stunt ?

[Luca Rescigno]

Originally posted by voodoo:
Lesseee now...

First shuttle they made was the Columbia, the second one was Challenger....

5?

Columbia (destroyed)
Challenger (destroyed)
Discovery
Atlantis
Endeavor
Enterprise (unmanned test vehicle only)

So we have three (that we know of ) that are capable of bringing humans into space. But there were originally five fully functional ones.

This seems like a huge triumph for China. Yeah, the Soviet Union and the USA both had manned space missions since the 1960s, but at that time China was not the world power it is today. They have made some great leaps in the past few decades and their people have tremendous resolve. I think this marks the beginning of a new era of space exploration - like it or not, China now has the ability to send people into space, and the US must acknowledge that.

[Face Ache]

Originally posted by catsank:
A fun question for you : could you see the great
wall of china if you were standing on the
moon ?

No. You can't see the GW of C from space. It's a myth.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by bracken:
He didn't say Alan Shepard was the first man in space. He said, "The US also put a man into space on the 1st try, live world wide. Alan Shephard made is proud!"

God.

I know what he said, and I liked what he said.

I was merely elaborating, and adding the part about Gagarin because somebody above couldn't remember the name (didn't see that it had been posted in the meantime).

-God.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:
Columbia (destroyed)
Challenger (destroyed)
Discovery
Atlantis
Endeavor
Enterprise (unmanned test vehicle only)

Actually, the Enterprise WAS manned, but not spaceworthy.

It was an atmospheric test vehicle only, launched from atop a modified Boeing 747.

-s*

[wataru]

Originally posted by Face Ache:
No. You can't see the GW of C from space. It's a myth.

Well, with a telescope of the right geometry I bet you could.

[digimage]

Originally posted by Spheric Harlot:
Actually, the Enterprise WAS manned, but not spaceworthy.

It was an atmospheric test vehicle only, launched from atop a modified Boeing 747.

-s*

It's also sitting at dulles airport and will be at the smithsonian air and space museum there.

I can't wait.