RE: China v. India Space Race

From: Mike Lorrey (mlorrey@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun Apr 27 2003 - 17:55:41 MDT

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    --- Greg Burch <gregburch@gregburch.net> wrote:
    >
    >
    > > -----Original Message-----
    > > From: Mike Lorrey
    > > Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2003 10:35 AM
    > >
    > > The only thing that concerns me about Chinese manned
    > > launchers is that there seems to be a distinct lack of regard
    > > for individual human life by chinese authorities. I suspect
    > > that the safety record of the Chinese manned program will be
    > dismal.
    >
    > Mike, I can't think why you'd say this. So far, the Chinese manned
    > program has proceeded on an EXTREMELY conservative basis. From what
    > I've read, the third Shenzhou flight could have been manned, but
    > they're
    > waiting until Shenzhou 5. The LM (CZ) rocket has a record as good as
    > Atlas did when it was the Mercury booster.

    I tend to wonder at safety records posted by governments that control
    the media. While the LM rocket has certainly improved in the last
    several years, it is mostly because of the fruits of spying on the US,
    and not because of actual chinese innovation.

    Is the LM as safe as, say, the Ariane? If not, the fact that the
    europeans don't see their own launcher as safe enough for human flight
    indicates that there are different standards being used.

    >
    > Since at this point the Chinese manned space program is all about
    > national pride and international prestige, it seems to me that CNSA
    > has as much incentive to be safe as NASA does.

    Or the Soviet Union? I seem to recall that there was at least one
    manned Soviet mission that never made the papers specifically because
    it was fatal. I have also heard rumors that the Chinese already had a
    manned flight that turned out similarly.

    =====
    Mike Lorrey
    "Live Free or Die, Death is not the Worst of Evils."
                                                         - Gen. John Stark
    "Pacifists are Objectively Pro-Fascist." - George Orwell
    "Treason doth never Prosper. What is the Reason?
    For if it Prosper, none Dare call it Treason..." - Ovid

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