Chinese Launch 4th Shenzhou

Heartbreak writes "Spaceref and others are reporting that China has launched its fourth and possibly final unmanned test of the Shenzhou capsule atop one of their Long March missiles---with a possible manned orbital flight to follow next year. The Shenzhou appears to be essentially a larger and more maneuverable version of the venerable Russian Soyuz. Aside from a boost to Chinese national pride, the point of duplicating Soviet space achievements of the '70's and '80's escapes me. Will they eventually send four men to the moon?"

Comments

Yes, the point seems to have escaped you.

[Ouroboro]

Aside from a boost to Chinese national pride, the point of duplicating Soviet space achievements of the '70's and '80's escapes me. Will they eventually send four men to the moon?"

The point is that they don't have their own manned launch vehicle. If they want to have any sort of manned space program, they need to start somewhere, and why not with a proven design. You have to realize that given their current standing in the world it would probably be hard for them to rent out time on the space shuttle, which is the only other currently viable option for getting your ass into space. Unless you count in the gondola of a high altitude baloon.

Re:Yes, the point seems to have escaped you.

[Simon Field]

Using the Soyuz design is a good idea.

Not only is it proven, but now you can offer it as a life boat for the ISS, or join a shuttle mission.

The technology for docking with Soyuz is something that the other two manned space powers also have, and that can come in quite handy for any future joint missions.

If you want to join the club, learn the secret handshake.

Short-sighted

[duffbeer703]

70's technology like the Space shuttle and Delta rockets are sending US payloads into space every day. The Soyuz spacecraft is/was providing essential supply replenishment missions to the ISS on a monthly basis.

Dismissing a technology because it is old is a dumb idea -- the technology behind the Soyuz is tested and reliable, and I'm sure that the improvements the Chinese make will modernize the platform further.

If NASA had invested billions in refurbishing the Space Shuttle, rather than squandering billions on a "Space Plane" that does the same thing as the shuttle, we'd probaly have a cheaper, more effective and more efficient space shuttle today.

Re:Short-sighted

[medcalf]

If NASA had invested billions in refurbishing the Space Shuttle, rather than squandering billions on a "Space Plane" that does the same thing as the shuttle, we'd probaly have a cheaper, more effective and more efficient space shuttle today.

True, but you have to go back further. If NASA had developed out the Saturn series further, and had worked on getting truly low-cost access to space (like this, perhaps), we would have a good heavy-lift booster (and the capability to use it to get to and supply the Moon and Mars) and cheap manned access to space. The Shuttle is a disaster in every way except as a technology demonstrator.