This Saturday, September 27, 2008, marked the first space-walk for the Chinese space program. Returning home this Sunday after a successful mission orbiting the Earth. The three-manned capsule landing in the Mongolian desert to a large crowd of cameras and flowers. This is a historic event for manned space travel, making China part of a select group of space-fearing countries-mainly the United States and Russia. The 15 minute space walk conducted by Zhai Zhigang was a major step in the Chinese space program's goal to ultimately put a manned space station in Earth orbit. Next to the historic Chinese manned spaceflight in 2003, this event is of major historical and cultural significance to the Chinese people and the world.
For those unfamiliar with the Chinese space program, this event is a major accomplishment proving to the world that the Chinese are stepping up in the world stage. Only three countries-the United States, Russia, and China-have accomplished. The pace of the program is reminiscent of the early days of NASA in the late 1950s and the 1960s when the race between the United States and the Soviet Union ultimately produced manned missions to the moon and orbiting space platforms, such as Skylab, Mir, and the International Space station. In the past few decades, both the United States and the former Soviet Union have placed relatively small efforts towards their space programs. This new, emerging economy and global superpower of China is beginning to question the dominance of the United States and proving in another field that China is ready to compete.
The original article can be found at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7640301.stm
No comments:
Post a Comment