Is the space race on? Having the lead in utilizing space has important military and communications advantages. The United States and Russia, often in joint ventures, are way ahead of the Chinese in space habitation and exploration. One drawback, however, is that they rely on each other to some extent.
U.S. Space Program Looks Toward Mars
A chunk of the U. S. space program has been turned over to private enterprise, which has the capacity to do it at less expense. The lead here goes to Space X, the brain child of inventor and entrepreneur Elon Musk, who yesterday announced that his firm is pioneering the first reusable rocket. (Kerry Sheridan, “SpaceX says ‘reusable rocket’ could help colonize Mars,” AFP News Service, Sept. 29, 2011)
This would be a step toward helping humans habitate Mars, a goal that is one of the top priorities of NASA, which directs the U.S. space program.
The SpaceX Reusable Rocket
Reusing a rocket saves tens of millions of dollars, paving the way toward pushing the space exploration frontier to a greater interplanetary distance, Musk told reporters at the National Press Club. Visual examples of how the rocket would operate can be seen in the SpaceX online newsletter.
The reusable rocket is the latest version of the Falcon 9 rocket which last year propelled the SpaceX Dragon to a low Earth orbit during its test mission. Next to watch for is the Falcon 9’s first cargo-ferrying mission to the International Space Station, due in January.
China Launches Space Lab
China launched Tiangong-1 yesterday in preparation for its eye in the sky, a future manned space station orbiting Earth. During the widely heralded event, President Hu Jintao watched from the Beijing control center and Premier Wen Jiabao from the Jiuquan launch site in Gansu province. “Tiangong,” the name of the small 8.5 ton space laboratory launched yesterday, means “heavenly palace.” (Ben Richardson and Simone Baribeau, “China’s Space Lab Launch Closes Gap with U.S. Dependent on Russian Rockets,” Bloomberg News, Sept. 29, 2011)
This accomplishment, coupled with “high-speed trains, the Beijing Olympics and having the world’s biggest nuclear power expansion, serves as a marker for the nation’s emergence as a global power,” the Bloomberg News story observed.
Even though—in terms of time, but perhaps not in technology—China is decades behind the United States and Russia’s space exploration programs, it had a successful manned flight in 2003. It hopes to have a man on the moon and its orbital space station in service by 2020. Yesterday’s launch puts it firmly ahead of the space programs of such emerging nations as India, Iran and South Korea, countries that are working on rocket and docking technology.
The World Responds to China Launch
Comments on the Chinese space launch ran the gamut from fantasy sword rattling in space to questions about present U.S. Space exploration policy. Professional observers were more moderate in their assessments, drawing attention to China’s envy of U.S. communications capabilities, calling for the need to develop international rules governing how and what countries do in space, and expressing concern that China’s space program is headed by a member of China’s Central Military Commission.
If the United States and China are in a space race, at present it is a very lop-sided one, with the U. S. way out in front. The United States is already mapping Mars.
Rosemary E. Bachelor - Rosemary Bachelor, a prize-winning journalist, has had a career as an editor, feature writer, magazine publisher and author. Her latest ...
