China in Space

The third nation on the planet to put astronauts into orbit is China and they've had this distinction for about two years now. Granted other countries have had their citizens go into orbit with the American and Russian space programs but China is now part of that very elite club. Does this come as a surprise? Not really if you think about it China has a behemout amount of resources both people and natural so it comes as no surprise that their fledgeling space program is their baby so to speak. Now one of the best things to come out of this is the fact that their program has a vitality and energy that the Russian and American space programs haven't had for decades.

Does this mean that the US and Russia are going to fall behind to the Chinese program? Not likely. Hopefully the Chinese entering space will spur the US, European and Japanese space agencies into high gear. It took the human race less than 70 years from the time we first took to flying to get to the moon... since then we've barely been able to accomplish anything. If the existing space programs want to be competitive then they really need to get going. Space is the final frontier and it's loaded with resources and the potential to ensure our races survival in the event that something catastrophic happens on earth.

I laud the Chinese space program and their Tikinauts and hope they really help spur the drive into space. I would like to see the rings of Saturn in person one day!

Links:
China outlines next space goals

Categories: Space Exploration, China, Tikinauts, Chinese Space Program