China's long march in space

Against the background of the successful launch of the Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou 10, a Chinese expert on the space program claims: The West has nothing to fear from the Chinese space program and calls on the US to cooperate

48 hours after launch from the Gobi Desert, the three astronauts on the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft successfully docked at the space station. The Chinese media reports that this is another step towards the establishment of an independent Chinese space station.

The astronauts will spend another two weeks in the Tiangong-1 space module, which will be China's longest manned mission to date. Docking was completely automatic, although during the stay, disconnection and docking will be performed again - this time manually, for the purpose of practicing the systems.
Wang Yaping, China's second woman in space, will present a lesson from space to high school students during her stay on the station.

In the West, and in particular in the USA, they fear the Chinese space program. Is this justified? Zhao Gang, a researcher at the Chinese National Academy claims that the US should contain the Chinese space program and not oppose it. Gang makes the remarks after the Shenzhou 10 spacecraft, and the three astronauts on board, lifted off from the Jiquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province on Tuesday and entered its intended orbit within minutes. On Thursday, it successfully docked with the Tiangong-1 space lab module.

"The latest launch, which is China's sixth manned mission in 10 years since its first space mission (this part of the sentence can be omitted), demonstrates the country's steady progress in manned space operations. The smooth launches of the Shenzhou spacecraft were preceded by years of unmanned flights since 1999."
"Shanzhou 10 and the rocket that carried it into orbit - Long March 2F constitute an upgrade to China's space transportation system capable of transporting astronauts and supplies from Earth to the Tiangong-1 space module and supporting scientific experiments there."
"As such, there are no drastic changes in Shenzhou 10 in a technical sense, except for a few adjustments compared to Shenzhou 9, including an upgraded internal environmental control life support system. Still, Shenzhou 10 marks a giant leap in China's space program, because it provides a technological guarantee for assembling a space station in orbit, which is of great importance to a rising space power like China."

"As you know, the United States and Russia agreed to join their efforts to build the space station in 1993. Since 1998, they have also been cooperating with other major powers, including Japan and ten member states of the European Space Agency, in the International Space Station program."

"The USA played a major role in preventing China's participation in the family of space powers. Washington published the Cox Report in 1999, which accuses China of developing military nuclear technology, as well as spying on and stealing from the US. The report and the national security law approved in fiscal year 1999, which prohibits the export of satellite technologies, missile equipment and other technologies to China, rules out the possibility of cooperation in space between China and the United States."

"Despite the US refusal for China to join the International Space Station program, Beijing's space program continues to thrive, and the successful launch of Shenzhou 10 shows that it is one step closer to building its own space station in 2020."

"China is the third country to launch humans into space independently, and its astronauts have also performed activities outside the space vehicle. Now China is one of the leading countries in space initiatives. The Beidou satellite navigation system it produces aims to capture 70-80% of the local GPS market share. The system is expected to reach global coverage in 2020."

"In addition, China has maintained a high frequency of launches in recent years. Just last year it carried out 19 launches, a number similar to Russia's and recorded a 100 percent success rate. Compared to China's steady progress, the US space program has slowed down, with the closure of the space shuttle program in 2011, the chances of the US returning to manned launches in 2016 are low due to a lack of long-term funding."

"The rise and fall of the US space program and China's growing space capability has provoked mixed reactions in the US. American observers have chosen to highlight the so-called dual-use nature of China's space programs designed to fulfill both military and civilian missions at the same time to advance their theory of the "China Day". Marcia Smith, the founder and editor of Spacepolicyonline.com, said that while there are certainly people in the US Congress who do not want to see the country fall behind China in manned space programs, even the success of the Shenzhou 10 mission will not change the decision of Congress on the future of NASA."

"There are optimistic observers regarding cooperation between China and the United States, although the Atlantic Monthly published an article entitled: 'China's space race is America's opportunity', in which it was said that it is worth considering whether China can share the experience of the United States and Russia in the field of space To serve American interests in the long term."
Gregory Kolecki, a senior analyst and director of the China Project at the Union of Concerned Scientists, says China's manned space program appears less threatening to American observers who initially suspected it. A more relaxed US approach to the program, combined with the slow but sure progress of the Chinese in manned space flights, may create opportunities for Sino-American cooperation in general and cooperation in space in particular, Kolaki says."

"Regardless of the US's approach, China is steadily advancing its space exploration program. As some Chinese experts have said, while China's space technology shows the potential of closing the gap with that of the US, Washington continues to adopt an inclusive approach. After China achieves major breakthroughs in the field of space technology on its own, the United States will have to adopt a policy of engagement and strive for cooperation between the countries."

"The Shenzhou 10 mission is particularly important for China's space dream. It will help improve national self-confidence, and the astronauts will give their first lecture from space to schoolchildren, with the aim of stimulating the youth's desire to study professions related to the field of space. "

"In addition, the commercial value of manned space missions will be realized after the successful transition of space technologies to industrial application, which will generate benefits for a wide range of industries, including the manufacturing, energy and electromechanical sectors, thus stimulating economic growth."

"More importantly, the space program is an opportunity to improve China's global cooperation with other countries. As China makes steady progress in space technology and is closer to building its own space station, more and more countries, both developed and developing, are showing great interest in working with China. China has already cooperated with Russia, Brazil and several European countries. People within the US space industry have also called for cooperation with China."

In conclusion, Gang writes: "Establishing the existing cooperation and expanding the joint space projects are necessary for China, in order to allow its space sector (field or branch) to gain greater global influence."

For Zhao Gang's article on the website of the Chinese news agency Xinhua