NASA Administrator Mike Griffin to visit China

Maggie McKee writes "China has repeatedly extended a hand to the US to work together in space, but for military and political reasons the US has always refused. Now, New Scientist Space reports that NASA chief Mike Griffin and other bigwigs are about to head to China for a meet-and-greet. But Griffin says: 'This is a get-acquainted session, and it is nothing more, and to characterise it as anything more would be to create expectations that would be possibly embarrassing to us or embarrassing to China.'"

Comments

What space race?

[BunnyClaws]

Some have argued this is because of a reluctance to share technologies that might be co-opted for military purposes, but others say it is simply down to politics, with space the last bastion of Cold War thinking.

Does anyone really think we are in a space race with China? I know they have managed to launch a man into space but does that really make it a space race?

Re:What space race?

[Daniel Dvorkin]

... and if we just pulled into the space pits and sat there, they could catch up.

Which, given the current pathetic state of our space program, makes me expect we'll see a yellow star on a red flag planted on the Moon long before we see another Stars and Stripes.

China and the ISS

[Quadraginta]

From the article:

Despite the fact that China has repeatedly asked to participate in the International Space Station, the US has always refused. Some have argued this is because of a reluctance to share technologies that might be co-opted for military purposes, but others say it is simply down to politics, with space the last bastion of Cold War thinking.

If so, I wonder if it's really the US that blackballs the Chinese. The country with the most to fear from China is actually Russia. They share an enormous common border. On the Russian side you've got endless empty taiga, natural resources galore...a paltry 140 million citizens...on the Chinese side, a billion hungry peasants. What's the Chinese for Lebensraum, I wonder?

Me, I'm totally OK with a strictly competitive stance vis-a-vis the Chinese in space. Much more gets done in that brisk atmosphere than in the suffocating 'cooperation in space' fug through which the ISS drifts, poor thing.

Re:China and the ISS

[krell]

"What's the Chinese for Lebensraum, I wonder?"

Tibet. Oh, almost forgot, they have another word for it too. Taiwan.

Re:China and the ISS

[grumpyman]

Lebensraum - you know which country knows this much better and have current practical experience? You know it and that's the country that occupy "territory believed especially by them to be necessary for national existence or economic self-sufficiency". You tell me about the situation at Middle East/Iraq/Isarel/Saudi then I'll tell you more about your insightful speculation on China's motive. Guys, when is this going to end? Posters put non-fact speculative FUD about China, readers agree, moderators mod insightful and everybody goes home happy.

If so, I wonder if it's really the US that blackballs the Chinese. The country with the most to fear from China is actually Russia. They share an enormous common border. On the Russian side you've got endless empty taiga, natural resources galore...a paltry 140 million citizens...on the Chinese side, a billion hungry peasants. What's the Chinese for Lebensraum, I wonder?

The same can be said to Canada for US. If Canada is a Muslim country, you bet the army, instead of navy/marines will step over before going to Iraq. "They share an enormous common border. On the Canadian side you've got endless empty taiga, natural resources galore...a paltry 30 million citizens...on the US side, a billion hungry SUV drivers and industrialists. What's the American for Lebensraum, I wonder?"

Re:China and the ISS

[shutdown -p now]

They don't need tundra. There's plenty of space in the Russian Far East for them to settle in, and they are already doing that, it's just not backed by the Chinese government (openly, anyway). But the number of Chinese settlers is certainly growing rapidly.

Hmm

[AndresCP]

Shouldn't what is apparently a published piece of scientific work use the apostrophe correctly to indicate ownership? (top of page 4, pdf in TFA).

Wish I could "steal" stuff like that.

[Kadin2048]

The US wouldn't had a rocket program if it hadn't "stolen" some Nazi scientists.

Yeah, because I'm sure they just had to be kidnapped and dragged over here; the alternative of ending up in some Soviet gulag, breaking big rocks into small rocks, being as enticing as it is.

Von Braun probably just stole a train and hauled ass towards the Western Front for a shits and giggles.

What's the US's problem here?

[YellowFellow]

We need to stop refusing to do (non-military) things with China. I think it's retarded that we can't share in scientific efforts with anyone who owns half our national debt. Hey China, you should tell us to pay up for being such jerks.

yeah, right...

[jjeffries]

That's not really China, it's actually a movie set in the middle of the desert...