Smarter Humans Than I . . .
... are evaluating the meanings and possible effects of the Shenzhou launch:October 16, 2003: China's Great Leap Upward: Post Launch Assessment and Implications for the United States [The Freeman Chair in China Studies is established at the Center for Strategic and International Studies ] The panel consisted of Dean Cheng, Senior Research Analyst with the CNA Corporation, Bates Gill, Freeman Chair in China Studies, and John M. Logsdon, Director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University. Bates Gill addressed the political and social ramifications of the launch, underscoring the importance of prestige and national pride as a driver behind this program. ...China's successful launch could mean further political and financial capital being invested to boost the resources available to its space program which will have a longer-term positive impact on China's growing military-related aerospace programs. He also noted that the launch will have greater repercussions in China's regional neighbors and aspiring space powers, India and Japan, than it will on the United States and Russia. John Logsdon ...it is still notable that China has undertaken this program and appears to have a long-term plans to build up its capabilities in space over time. It appears that China is pursuing a self-reliant capability over the mid term rather than be dependent on outsiders for gaining access to the benefits of space exploration. September 29, 2003 Chinese Space Program: Sun Tzu or Apollo Redux? Dr. Joan Johnson-Freese, Chair of the Department of National Security Studies at the Naval War College ...pointed out that China's motivation behind its space program is multi-faceted. The Chinese, she underscores, want to reap what the Apollo Space Program did for the United States: international prestige, technological advancement with "spin-on" effects for military-technical development, increased employment in the space-related industries, and national pride which would boost government legitimacy.
When was the last time you heard the phrase "national Pride" bandied about -- hell, whispered -- in popular culture here in America? Via NASA Watch ThanQ! Mr K [get a blog, dammit!]
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