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China Joins EU in Galileo Satellite Venture
CHaN_316 writes "Yahoo has posted a story that says China to Participate in Galileo Satellite Program. 'The agreement provides for cooperation in satellite navigation, technology, industrial manufacturing, market development, frequency and certification'. This is definitely a good boost to the satellite program since it injects fresh cash into the project. There are probably strategic reasons for joining this network since it's an alternative to the American controlled GPS system. Here's more information about Galileo." China is also moving quickly toward getting a man in space.
Why must nations always get involved and turn space exploration into an Us vs. Them contest?
I wish we could all just work together, share ideas (much in the same manner that Linux engineers share programming code), and unite to accomplish one common goal, such as a manned mission to Mars.
This would lower taxes, make a Mars mission occur much sooner, and encourage a gentle more loving dialogue between the mainstream nations and rogue nations.
We owe it to science to drop our national flags in the name of progress. Please reply with, a) the country you currently reside in and b) whether you think your country would work with the United States in a joint space mission and c) (optional) if possible, state your country's current economic spending on space missions.
Thank you! This should make for interesting data.
Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate. Ex-O'Reilly/MIT employee, now a full-time Google employee.
BTW...anyone know what the state of our anti-sat weaponry capabilities are lately?
they're built, but they don't work.
( i wish i knew a link for this...but, the Military in the US is having this problem -- paid millions of dollars for technology that doesnt work -- just to pad a bunch of higher ups pockets...)
We're like rats, in some experiment! -- George Costanza
And when the Galileo-guided Chinese missles are raining down on Taiwan's cities, will you dance a little jig then?
Europe is going to have to make a decision which side it's on. They can't continue to say yes to all the benefits that 50+ years of good relations has given BOTH sides and then turn around and covertly attempt to undermine everything the US does. Europe faces NO threat from ever being attack by the US. The only agenda the US has is a world were all countries have some form of democratically elected government and a homegrown form of capitalism. How is that not in everyone's benefit? Ever hear of comparative advantage? That's what's made the US the economic power that it is. Europe hasn't had enough to do in these last 50 years. They've got themselves stuck in this ridiculous utopian view of the world and have ignored some very real threats.
Now... Not to get completely off topic... Any alternative to GPS is a major threat to the US. If you can't see that you are blind. If Iraq had access to something like this they could have hit every US base in Kuwait last March. Who knows what could happen in some other future war. With GPS you can literally turn off the treat. Why else do you think China would be keen to join something like this? If American troops are endanged I fully support the US military building a counter measure to either jam or shoot down something like this.
Well here is a novel idea: Try to find a consesus instead of playing sherriff and shooting around you wildly.
Just an idea but you know what? It might just work.
The problem is though that the US (Administration) seems to think that they can do whatever they want.
Is China a threat to the US? Hardly. Chine UNLIKE the US has not fought any big war in the last couple of decades, they have no real interrest (or so it seems) in world domination and seem to be a lot more rational lately then the ones at 1600.
But then maybe it's just me.
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