Science

China Launches Spacecraft as Next Step Toward Making Its Own Space Station

BEIJING (The Blaze/AP) — China’s unmanned spacecraft Shenzhou 8 blasted off Tuesday morning, in the latest step of what will be a decade-long effort by the country to place a manned permanent space station in orbit.

Watch the Reuters video of the launch:

China launched its own space station program after being rebuffed in its attempts to join the 16-nation International Space Station, largely on objections from the United States. The U.S. is wary of the Chinese program’s military links and the sharing of technology with its chief economic and political competitor.

Earlier Chinese news reports did not specify a launch date for Shenzhou 8. Chinese space officials rarely speak to foreign media.

The Guardian has more:

“Mastering the technology of rendezvous and docking will lay a firm foundation for China to build a space station,” Zhou Jianping, the chief designer of China’s manned space engineering project, told Xinhua, [the official Chinese news agency].

“Once we have mastered this technology, we will possess the basic technology and capacity to build a space station, and this will open up possibilities for even larger activities in space.”

But he added: “Since we have never conducted a similar test before and the system is so complicated, we have many unknowns.”

The Shenzhou 8 will attempt to dock with an experimental module, carrying out maneuvers to couple with the Tiangong 1 module now in orbit. The 8.5-ton, box car-sized Tiangong 1 launched last month.

Following Shenzhou 8, two more missions — at least one of them manned — are to meet up with the module next year for further practice, with astronauts staying for up to one month.

Plans call for launching two other experimental modules for more tests before the actual station is launched in three sections between 2020 and 2022.

At about 60 tons when completed, the Chinese station will be considerably smaller than the International Space Station, which is expected to continue operating through 2028.

(H/T: The Guardian)

Comments (10)

  • MUDFLAPS
    Posted on November 2, 2011 at 10:33pm

    hell,why make one… barry will give you ours.

    Report Post »  
  • TH30PH1LUS
    Posted on November 2, 2011 at 1:47pm

    We had two big opportunities to cripple the Chinese Communist giant:

    1. During the Korean War, when limited nuclear strikes were proposed to keep the Chinese at bay (our Marines were already fighting Chinese regulars).

    2. The Tiananmen Square showdown when the young people made a bold move for political change.

    We blew past both of those opportunities. Now we sit and watch China take space while Obama dismantles NASA.

    Report Post » TH30PH1LUS  
  • M 4 Colt
    Posted on November 2, 2011 at 4:11am

    The one and only thing China has planed is to build up it’s military till it feels it is strong enough to defeat the U S military in any conflict and space it the ultimate high ground. People here in this country may not want to hear this but we will be going to war with China, it’s not if but when we go to war. The war will start with one of our allies maybe Korea or Taiwan over the gas and oil in the south China sea. We need to stop buying any and all electronics made in China and if you want to hear how really dumb our government is we buy computer chips from them for use in our military’s computer systems. We use them in our jets use them in our fire control systems on our nuclear subs, and the best part i read in Aviation Week that our repair techs have found abnormality‘s in the architecture of those chips and our tech guys don’t know what those abnormality’s are there for, kind of makes you wounder if its not some type of Trojan horse that the Chinese military could use to remotely crash our systems when we go to war with them, just what we need to have our fire control system fail when we are in the fight of our lives.

    Report Post »  
    • TH30PH1LUS
      Posted on November 2, 2011 at 1:42pm

      Also – America no longer makes vital components that keep our “grid” up and running. We’ve placed a loaded gun in the hands of our enemies.

      Report Post » TH30PH1LUS  
  • WeDontNeedNoSteenkinBadges03
    Posted on November 2, 2011 at 2:58am

    “China Launches Spacecraft as Next Step Toward Making Its Own Space Station”

    Slave labor … ya gotta love it!

    Report Post » WeDontNeedNoSteenkinBadges03  
  • This_Individual
    Posted on November 1, 2011 at 12:24pm

    A good opportunity for us to show how privatization works. Do we really need NASA to continue our space exploration?

    Report Post »  
  • 1casawizard
    Posted on November 1, 2011 at 12:01pm

    Made in china or heche en chino with technology STOLEN or given to them by some now wealthy engineers in the U.S.

    Report Post » 1casawizard  
    • Salamander
      Posted on November 1, 2011 at 5:25pm

      Google Loral and Clinton if you want to see wholesale grant of U.S. Technologies to China! Then, read “Lucky Bastard” by Charles McCarry to find out why! Now, if we could just find out where Obama came from (not his birth, but the overtures and funding that led to his Presidency)–odd, isn’t it? The Man from Nowhere! How did this happen? Why? Who is behind it?

      Report Post »  
  • JLGunner
    Posted on November 1, 2011 at 11:42am

    I remember when we had a space program, then came barack, the hater of a successful US.

    Report Post » JLGunner  

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