Apparently the space race is still on for some nations. I had come under the assumption that every nation was a part of the International Space Station, Not China! While it seens to a degree reasonable that China has not taken part in the project (due to political and ideological differences), at the same time it seems strange that they were not apart of the ISS. China has some of the brightest minds in the world and the resources to help support the ISS. It feels egotistical for China to set of on its own space station project, as well as waste of resources. None the less, it is an ambitious project considering China has limited experience when it comes to projects in low Earth orbit. China has only recently completed it's first space docking, which in itself is a great achievement. I simply question is the national pride really worth the resources? if there is anything the cold war has taught us, it was a significant waste of money, the USA and USSR simply thew money at really dumb projects that didn't give much in return.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteThis seems to reflect the greater trend of the Chinese trying to attain more soft power through scientific, economic, and cultural projects. China is trying to assert itself in the world order as a superpower. A space station is certainly a great way to showcase China's scientific and industrial power. China's space ambitions might also be driven by military ambitions. For example maybe they want to set up their own GPS system or launch more spy satellites.