A healthy space program is a positive sign of China's superpower status, along with China having the second largest economy, second largest defense budget, largest consumer and producer population and highest overall cheap energy consumption in the world.
US Apollo 8 astronauts were the first humans to see the far side of the Moon with the naked eye when they orbited the Moon in 1968.
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The above Youtube is Tom Lehrer's 1965 song poking fun at Wernher von Braun. Von Braun contributed heavily to the booster rockets for the US Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs working towards the US 1969 Moon landing. Coincidentally 1 minute, 32 seconds into the Youtube, Lehrer says von Braun is "...learning Chinese."
Until today all of the manned and unmanned soft landings so far have taken place on the near side of the Moon.
See previous two Submarine Matters' articles on China's superpower space achievements:
- Chinese Manned Spacecraft Docking Glory, February 17, 2012, and
- China's Space Achievements - Passing US's Manned Program, November 25, 2013.
Pete
7 comments:
LOL, So snarky :-) How is Australia's Space program going?
Thanks PKJ
Re "How is Australia's Space program going?"
Australia hosts large NASA radio telescope (some used for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo) communications in Parkes, NSW and Tidbinbilla, ACT and elsewhere https://www.cdscc.nasa.gov/Pages/other_history.html Also Australia has large optical research telescopes
Australia host a major earth station at Pine Gap, NT, for satellites used to detect Chinese and Russian nuclear missile launches and other worthy purposes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Gap
In 2018 the Australian Space Agency was opened in Adelaide, South Australia to coordinate Australia space acttivities https://www.sasic.sa.gov.au/media/news/article/2018/12/11/australian-space-agency-to-adelaide
Like many countries Australia wants to be capable of launching civilian and military satellite payloads. To that end Australia (lots of launch territory) has been working with Singapore (lacking territory) to test "Gilmour Space" rocket engines https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2018/06/a-future-australian-singaporean-rocket.html .
- The next Australian-Singaporean step will be launching the Eris orbital rocket with a 400kg satellite payload.
A long way behind many countries, including China.
Cheers
Pete
Yes yes, hosting telescopes and launching sites are just as good as them chinese actually landing probes on the moon. Congratulation :-)
Hi PKJ
Unlike China, Australia has no aspirations to be a great power or nuclear armed power (yet).
Australia gains most of its power by association with the top superpower, the US. This almost makes Australia the 51st US state (west of Hawaii).
Only Trump (and his fellow rightwing American ignorants) can trash this US-Australian relationshiph and the US's more or less, peaceful trade relationship with China.
Cheers
Pete
Hi again PKJ
Watch the following Youtube and weep, mate.
The Australia-UK space program was way ahead of China's in 1964 with the Black Arrow "Lipstick Rocket" at Australia's huge aerospace range at Woomera, South Australia see https://youtu.be/FHBGAyIU8Hw?t=2m10s
Australia's Woomera Launch Area would have been (and still could be) the world's cheapest launch area - as the British cockney speaking commentator implies at https://youtu.be/FHBGAyIU8Hw?t=10m14s
Once China takes over/buys Australia in the 2040s you'll see.
Cheers
Pete
Meanwhile Australia-UK managed to trash part of Australia's prime ocean views with atomic bomb tests from 1952
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montebello_Islands#British_nuclear_weapons_tests
- https://youtu.be/3C-q8dvf-gk
Long before China's much larger 1967 H-bomb test in less tropical western China
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_weapons_tests_of_China#List
- note very tuneful female voice, followed by benevolent music https://youtu.be/BuX5xug9prk
Just for interest. Here is "A Time-Lapse Map of Every Nuclear Explosion Since 1945 - by Isao Hashimoto" https://youtu.be/LLCF7vPanrY
Cheers
Pete
An excellent article by Lincoln Hines writing at The Diplomat (paysite), January 18, 2019 "Coping With the Challenge of China’s Growing Space Power"
https://thediplomat.com/2019/01/coping-with-the-challenge-of-chinas-growing-space-power/
which includes:
"...by recognizing Chinese status aspirations, the United States maintains an important tool by which to temper competitive tensions, and mitigate the threat of a full blown space race.
...Much of China’s space program is oriented toward enhancing China’s military power. By developing heavier launch capabilities, China can deliver intercontinental-range ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and place heavy spy satellites in orbit.
Similarly, China’s pursuit of satellite technologies contributes to China’s efforts of “winning informationized local wars.”
Likewise, through China’s BeiDou navigation satellite system (the Chinese equivalent of GPS), Chinese missiles can increase their accuracy and lethality.
Moreover, Chinese counterspace capabilities provide China important asymmetric advantages vis-à-vis the United States, facilitating China’s anti-access/area-denial strategy should a conflict break out between the two powers in the Taiwan Strait or in the East and South China Seas..."
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