From: Spudboy100@aol.com
Date: Sun Apr 27 2003 - 11:05:25 MDT
Interesting thoughts, Greg. I do absolutely agree with the notion, that the
primary element that caused the Apollo project to be cut short, was the
withdrawal of the Soviets from the Lunar landing race. Had they continued,
had they persevered, I guess that having a small, and temporary lunar
research cabin, starting in the late 1970s, would have been a sure thing.
Affording to build a large lunar research or military base would have been a
different story. Could the technology of the time have accomplished this,
driven by advances in computer technology, that was driven by the space race?
It makes a person wonder, given the advances in metallurgy, atomic weapons,
jets, radar, antibiotics, rocketry, telemetry, that the Second World War
produced.
As far as the intentions and behavior of the PRC, I would ask the question
Dorothy asked upon meeting Glenda in OZ: "Are you a good witch or a bad
witch?" The PRC is a prickly, nationalistic, jingoistic, nation-state; not
unlike the attitude of the post 1866 Prussian ruled Reich. So much for 4000
years of Confucian and Laotzuist tradition and philosophy. We are dealing
with a different breed of cat. I am not sure that the Chinese, will be
capable, anytime soon, of being interested in a group project; which in
itself, would undercut the sought-after prestige they seem to crave. If they
land on the moon and begin dancing on the old aluminum US Flag, that may
indeed ignited a new space race.
<<No, the real target for a "Chinese space race" is the U.S. And I think
this is a GREAT thing, since it could provide the same kind of spur to
both sides that the Cold War rivalry did in the 1950s-1970s. The hunger
for a globally-visible affirmation that China has "arrived" on the world
stage is nearly universal in that country, and this impetus provides a
deep reservoir of support to achieve the Chinese space program's stated
goal, which is the establishment of a permanently manned base on the
moon within the next twenty years.
Beyond (or beside) this, I see a potentially very favorable development
in the possibility of inviting the Chinese to participate in the ISS
program. Since the Shenzhou spacecraft is just an updated Soyuz, it
ought to be maximally compatible with the Russian elements of the
station. Here's my dream: The Russians carry through with their deal to
begin launching from the ESA equatorial launch facility in South
America, so the station can be slowly moved to a more reasonably aligned
orbit. Meanwhile, the Chinese begin to provide ferry and lifeboat
service with Shenzhou flights, while at the same time working on a
unilateral lunar program. Wouldn't that be great?!?!
Greg Burch
Vice-President, Extropy Institute
http://www.gregburch.net>>
Greg Burch stated:
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