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China To Launch Second Manned Mission
the_central_kingdom wrote to mention a Xinhuanet article discussing a second upcoming Chinese spacecraft launch in October. From the article: "Although Sun did not provide details about the new mission, space officials earlier said China has been preparing for the second manned venture into outer space since the first mission, piloted by Yang Liwei, almost two years ago. Sun Laiyan, chief of the China National Space Administration, earlier told China Daily that Shenzhou VI will carry two men into orbit for five or six days. "
Because when unmanned missions fail, equipment dies; when manned missions fail, people die?
When you look at the history of NASA's space adventures, it's pretty clear that we sort of peaked with the the 1960s and early 1970s. Then they sort of went soft.
China's missions remind me of NASA's early days, when John Glenn and others made simple manned orbits. Sure, there was some scientific value to them, but the primary reason was: look what our country can do.
I not only hope China will continue to plan and conduct these manned missions -- but also I hope all of their missions are a tremendous success.
This and only this will spur NASA out of safety/budget land and go back to the cock&balls manned flights of yester-century.
Just my 2 cents.
Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, START
Of course it's all economics. If it were cheaper to send a manned module up to put a satellite in orbit, NASA would be doing it that way. However, it is far, far cheaper to send up just the satellite, rather than the satellite plus the astronauts plus their life support equipment and supplies, plus the re-entry vehicle. Oh, and let's not forget all the safety constraints that a manned launch requires that an unmanned one doesn't.
"I'm not impatient. I just hate waiting." - My Dad
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The article says that they'll 'venture into outer space'. Isn't it just 'space', not 'outer space'??
It would be nice if China had some kind of realization when their astronauts are up in space, flying around the Earth, looking down on a fragile ball, without any borders visible on the 'map' - that we are all one people, one race, one world.. a very fragile and exceedingly precious world.. here in our tiny, five mile thick zone of comfort, balanced between a world that is very very cold (space) and one that is very very hot.. (magma)
But instead, the Chinese that I have spoken to don't see this as some kind of triumph for mankind and instead, see it as 'catching up with America' - a continuation of what has become a national obsession.. Of course, they are catching up with America in 1963.. (which was catching up to the then-USSR a year earlier) but...
Ultimately, I think its a good thing.. The space cooperation between the US and the USSR was clearly, in retrospect a BIG thing in improving the relations between our two countries.. It may have saved us from a nuclear war during those years..
Now I'm praying that we don't end up in one in the 21st century.. Seems like both China and the US are currently ruled by the same kinds of idiots.. the kind that doesnt mind seeing millions of people die if its good for profits..
But.. any scientist could tell them.. IT WONT BE..
As Einstein said "We can't tell you what weapons World War III will be fought with, but we can tell you that World War IV, IF THERE IS ONE will be fought with sticks an arrows..
If we live to see it.. if the human race survives..
Just say NO..
Commentary on /. trends aside, is there any particular reason for America's tendency to send many, many more unmanned than manned missions into space? Surely the fact that unmanned missions are cheaper alone did not result in the creation of this policy.
Unmanned missions are a necessity with the present-day American mindset. Haven't you noticed that every time one of our astronauts dies, our space program grinds to a halt for years?
We (the USA) have lost the pioneer spirit... If we're really going to stay ahead of the Chinese (and Indians, and Russians, and whoever else) the USA as a country has to understand that tregedies will happen, and some brave souls will die in the name of progress, and they knew the risks of that happening when they signed on for the job. Because a Shenzhou crash will not slow the Chinese down for a second (really, we likely wouldn't even know it happened.)
Man, 10-15 years down the road there will be another cold war and another arms/space/tech race. And for the layman, that's great news. More jobs here in the US, more investment into tech with all the trickle-down effects, more investment into education, too.