China's Space Program Thread II
- Thread starter Blitzo
- Start date
by78
General
Nothing we don't already know, but here's an official confirmation that the Chinese space station can be expanded. The chief of the space station project, Mr. Wang Xiang, has stated that an expansion module can be added to the current station, and a new node can be added to the expansion module, which in turn enables more docking points and further expansion.
Last edited:
Landspace's Zhuque2 will perform it's maiden launch on 10th Dec. which means ZQ2 can probably be the first orbital methane powered rocket in the world
Here is the NOTAM:
A TEMPORARY DANGER AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY:
N3359E09828-N3437E09840-N3442E09814-N3404E09802 BACK TO START.
VERTICAL LIMITS:SFC-UNL. SFC - UNL, 10 DEC 08:22 2022 UNTIL 10 DEC 10:44 2022.
CREATED: 05 DEC 08:27 2022
Here is the NOTAM:
A TEMPORARY DANGER AREA ESTABLISHED BOUNDED BY:
N3359E09828-N3437E09840-N3442E09814-N3404E09802 BACK TO START.
VERTICAL LIMITS:SFC-UNL. SFC - UNL, 10 DEC 08:22 2022 UNTIL 10 DEC 10:44 2022.
CREATED: 05 DEC 08:27 2022
When I first read about ten years ago that China's goal was eventually to have a large modular space station by the early 2020s, I admit I thought of it somewhat as a distant dream than something that could be accomplished. I grew even more pessimistic after the failure of the Long March 5 second launch in July 2017. I remember that I was at Houston's Space Center museum that day and was really excited about space travel. When I left the museum I found out about the LM-5 failure, and I was devastated. I never thought in 2018 or 2019 that the goal could be reached. The relaunch of the LM-5 in December 2019 gave China's space program a lifeline.
Since mid-2021, China has put more crews into space than the entire period from 2005 to 2021 and they have stayed up there orders of magnitude longer, establishing a permanent space presence. China's space program has truly ascended to the next level.
Now that China has now constructed a modular space station, similar in size to the Russian Mir station, in my view the next steps should be:
1. Focus on commercialization and reusable rocket technology bring down costs, and bring more revenue into the space sector. Until space travel is bringing back returns that can be measured in monetary value, then its just a vanity project that boosts pride but has little utility. The goal should be to be able to put payloads into orbit with a reusable rocket.
2. Move forward with Manned Deep Space travel. In terms of prestige and getting more children interested in science (which IMO is one of the biggest useful purposes of a space program) nothing beats this. Put a man on the moon and bring him back safely to earth (there is no need to race with the U.S.). The ultimate goal, IMO, is to put people onto Mars and eventually colonize Mars. I believe that in hundreds of years, humankind will colonize Mars with sealed biodomes and will eventually find a way to terraform Mars and make it warmer thus human habitable. This is the future version of the colonization of the Americas, which China lost out on. IMO the goal should be to claim about 25% of Martian territory for China. Of course this goal is decades if not centuries away, but might as well start working towards something ambitious. I truly believe it can be done. But the cost of space travel will have to be brought down and it be made more cost efficient first. Baby steps.
Since mid-2021, China has put more crews into space than the entire period from 2005 to 2021 and they have stayed up there orders of magnitude longer, establishing a permanent space presence. China's space program has truly ascended to the next level.
Now that China has now constructed a modular space station, similar in size to the Russian Mir station, in my view the next steps should be:
1. Focus on commercialization and reusable rocket technology bring down costs, and bring more revenue into the space sector. Until space travel is bringing back returns that can be measured in monetary value, then its just a vanity project that boosts pride but has little utility. The goal should be to be able to put payloads into orbit with a reusable rocket.
2. Move forward with Manned Deep Space travel. In terms of prestige and getting more children interested in science (which IMO is one of the biggest useful purposes of a space program) nothing beats this. Put a man on the moon and bring him back safely to earth (there is no need to race with the U.S.). The ultimate goal, IMO, is to put people onto Mars and eventually colonize Mars. I believe that in hundreds of years, humankind will colonize Mars with sealed biodomes and will eventually find a way to terraform Mars and make it warmer thus human habitable. This is the future version of the colonization of the Americas, which China lost out on. IMO the goal should be to claim about 25% of Martian territory for China. Of course this goal is decades if not centuries away, but might as well start working towards something ambitious. I truly believe it can be done. But the cost of space travel will have to be brought down and it be made more cost efficient first. Baby steps.
International prestige is a form of national branding. This is the main reason why countries bid for prestigious events like the Olympics, World Cup, Moon landings, Space Stations, etc, etc. These things boost countries image and have knock on effects that increase the branding of all their exported products, culture, social status, political power, etc. Calling the Chinese space station a vanity project is dramatically understating the effect this has had on the international perception of China. It's like the copium that continues to call China's high speed rail network a vanity project even though it is a major reason why global perception of China switched from being a poor agrarian rice paddy country to the world's factory with futuristic cities and the most modern infrastructure. There might not be direct financial gain from the "vanity project", but there is definitely gains in other areas, whether it is improved perception of quality from that country, higher prices for their brands or social/political effects.
This is backward primitive thinking. I know this kind of sentiment is still common in English speaking countries. However, in the rest of the world, aside from France, no country seriously entertains this kind of colonial mindset. The Solar System's resources are literally unlimited. Besides that, why do you say China lost out on the colonization of the Americas? The fact China and many other civilizations travelled to different lands and didn't kill or colonize those lands is a point of honor and pride, not ridicule. That's what being civilized means! What happened in the Americas is disgusting and a blight in Human history, especially given that it happened after the so-called Enlightenment. No amount of grandiose false history can erase the biggest genocide in world history, followed by the global slave trade that followed. This is the foundation of the Americas and what you say "China lost out on".
Last edited: