Space Shuttle Secrets Stolen For China

Ponca City, We Love You writes "The Department of Justice has announced the indictment of former Boeing engineer Dongfan Chung on charges of economic espionage in the theft of company trade secrets relating to the Space Shuttle, the C-17 military transport aircraft, and the Delta IV rocket. Chung is a native of China and a naturalized US citizen. According to the indictment, Chinese aviation industry representatives began sending Chung 'tasking' letters as early as 1979. Over the years, the letters directed Chung to collect specific technological information, including data related to the Space Shuttle and various military and civilian aircraft. Chung allegedly responded in one letter indicating a desire to contribute to the 'motherland,' the DOJ said. It was not immediately clear how much, if any, damage the alleged espionage did to US national security but DOJ officials said the cases reflect the determination of the Chinese government to penetrate US intelligence and obtain vital national defense secrets. 'Today's prosecution demonstrates that foreign spying remains a serious threat in the post-Cold War world,' said Kenneth L. Wainstein, Assistant Attorney General for National Security"

Comments

Why is it always China?

[Clay Pigeon -TPF-VS-]

Why is it always naturalized citizens from china, or American-born citizens who's parents were born in China that are in the news for doing this?

Re:Why is it always China?

[ScrewMaster]

Seriously. I suggest you do some research on what's been going on there, for some time now. For example, a Ph.D. I know was talking about the materials science department at his school. It was flooded with Chinese students, the Dean was Chinese (a Chinese national himself, not a U.S. citizen) who would take months-long sabbaticals to China order to recruit more students for his department. They squeezed all the other students (American as well as from other countries) out. Arrogant about it too, he was telling me: it was their department, basically. He was one of the few U.S. citizens left in that particular graduate program, and this was some years ago. Others tried to get in, but there weren't enough positions left ... the Chinese had filled them all.

They're educating themselves to advance their nation's interests, and their doing at our expense. This is happening all over, so yes, I think "pillage" is a good word. We put limits on legal immigration from different countries, with only so many allowed per year from each. That's not unusual among nations, everyone places controls on immigration. However, I think we should start doing the same thing for foreign students, especially from China since they're abusing the system. At the very least, they should only be allowed to study here if they aren't displacing U.S. citizens. Face it, the Chinese are putting their country first: I have no problem with that. However, we should start doing the same if we want to have a country.

Uhm

[moosesocks]

Are the designs to the Space Shuttle even worth stealing? It's thus far proven to be an expensive and unreliable launch platform.

If anything, China would serve itself better by looking to the North, and copying Soyuz. Hell... I'm sure the Russians would be willing to sell the designs/equipment for most of their spacecraft for a very reasonable price, given their perpetual funding woes.

Even ignoring all that, it's still 1970s technology.

Re:And at what point do we close the doors on them

[Anonymous Coward]

When they begin to bomb us.

Right now we are getting loads of cheap and almost okay quality products.

It's a tradeoff. I don't like it mind you. Shipping slavery to another continent is not something I approve of.

Well, at least now...

[Penguinisto]

They can write some code that doesn't need a shedload of debugging...

Okay, on a serious note, this is 1976(?) tech here. I can understand wanting it real bad in 1979, but, err, 32 year-old-stuff is kinda dated when you consider that we routinely give China techonology that's a whole Hell of a lot newer.

Besides, weren't they going to retire the Shuttle anyway? If China wants one so bad, why not sell 'em a used one for a decent markup?

As someone who has worked in and around certain aircraft projects a very long time ago, I can say for certain that this guy would've never even hoped to get near, say, an F-117 or B-2 project... there's too much compartmentalization (especially between NASA and the USAF/USN, for Hell's sakes...)

Given all of that - unless the guy started hacking mainframes and whatnot @ Boeing, I guess I just don't see where there would be a really huge dent in US national security at this point. He wouldn't have had the clearance, for starters.

/P

Re:And at what point do we close the doors on them

[Tablizer]

And how would you fill up your WalMarts? Americans don't manufacture anything anymore... who's gonna make yer [stuff]?

India, Mexico, Taiwan, South Korea, Brazil, Columbia, etc. There are plenty of democracies or semi-democracies that would love to have our business.

And/or, we could put our own rust-belt back to work so maybe their crime and poverty will go down. The "evils" of protectionism are exaggerated by business lobbyists.