China’s capabilities pose potential threat to American space assets, US military general says
Commander of U.S. Space Command Gen. James Dickinson testifies during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing March 8, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Drew Angerer/Getty Images
© Drew Angerer/Getty Images
A U.S. military leader warned Friday that China is continuing to build capabilities that potentially threaten American assets in space.
Commander of U.S. Space Command Gen. James Dickinson told reporters that China continues to "build capabilities that, really quite frankly, hold most of our assets at risk in the space domain." "I’m seriously focused on our pacing challenge, China," he said. "The unified stance of our allies and partners is critical in countering the coercion and subversion that threatens the international rules-based order here in the Indo-Pacific and beyond," Dickinson noted.
The head of American military operations in space said Russia's invasion of Ukraine had further shown space to be a "contested domain that must be protected." In 2003, China became the third government to send an astronaut into orbit on its own and its program – run by the People's Liberation Army – has made strides since. Last month, China launched the last of three modules for its own space station and has rovers on the moon and Mars. It is also planning a crewed lunar mission during this decade.
NASA Shocked! China Took Over Space Race By Completing Tiangong Space Station
China now holds the position to dominate the space sector and has continuously welcomed other nations in an open collaboration in the space sector. The completion of Tiangong Space Station has revealed one thing: China is no longer a rising space power, it has already taken over. Their actions may have replaced the US supremacy in space.
In today’s episode, we are going to talk about how China has shocked the US & NASA by taking over the space race after completing their space station:
0:00 – Intro
01:13 - How China is taking over with their space station
03:15 - China | The new dominant space power
Complete China Space Station vs ISS
Chinese Space Program has basked in a fair share of glory after the completion of their Tiangong Space Station in low Earth orbit making a total count of completed working space stations to two. While the International Space Station is a collaboration of space programs from different nations, China managed to complete their own version of a space station themselves – without any foreign help.
In today’s episode, we are going to compare the Tiangong Space Station and the International Space Station in detail:
00:00 – Intro
01:04 - Battle of The Space Stations
02:39 - Comparing the Buildup and Size
05:10 - Modules & Structure Comparison
07:05 - Which One is Better?
China's manned space program: Year in Review #China2022
2022 marks the 30th anniversary of China's manned space program, and a crucial year to complete the construction of its Tiangong space station. Here's a look back at what China achieved in the manned space program in 2022. #China2022
Chinese scientists complete rice, Arabidopsis life-cycle experiments in space
A researcher processes space scientific experimental samples at the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 5, 2022. Chinese scientists have completed the life-cycle growth experiments of rice and Arabidopsis in the Chinese space station and successfully obtained their seeds, said the CAS on Monday. With the safe landing of the Shenzhou-14 spaceship's return capsule at the Dongfeng landing site Sunday night, the seeds of rice and Arabidopsis, which have undergone a 120-day life cycle, were delivered to China's manned space program's space application system along with other samples. (Xinhua)
Chinese scientists have completed the life-cycle growth experiments of rice and Arabidopsis in the Chinese space station and successfully obtained their seeds, said the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Monday.
With the safe landing of the Shenzhou-14 spaceship's return capsule at the Dongfeng landing site Sunday night, the seeds of rice and Arabidopsis, which have undergone a 120-day life cycle, were delivered to China's manned space program's space application system along with other samples. According to the CAS website, previously, scientists worldwide have only managed to obtain the seeds of a few crops like Arabidopsis, rape, wheat, and peas in space, except for the major food crop -- rice.
The Chinese research team has completed the full life-cycle growth experiment of rice for the first time in the world. It has also systematically studied the effects of microgravity on flowering in space using the model plant Arabidopsis, the CAS said. The experiments, undertaken by the Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences under the CAS, were conducted from July 29 to Nov. 25.
China's space station Tiangong enters new phase of application, development
This simulated image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on Nov 30, 2022 shows China's Shenzhou XV manned spaceship having conducted a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the combination of the space station Tiangong. [Photo/Xinhua]
China's space station, Tiangong, will get busier exploring space science and technology in the following years, as the newly launched Shenzhou-15 mission wraps up the last stage of its construction and kicks off the first stage of its application and development. "China plans to build the space station into a state-level space lab supporting long astronaut stays and large-scale scientific, technological, and application experiments," said Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program.
The space station features a basic three-module configuration consisting of the core module, Tianhe, and two lab modules, Wentian and Mengtian. It is designed to be a versatile space lab, capable of accommodating 25 experiment cabinets for scientific exploration. The construction of the space station benefits from the advantages of the new system of pooling national resources and strength. There are hundreds of thousands of scientific researchers coordinating to make technological breakthroughs and tackle major sci-tech problems. The researchers have been adhering to self-reliance and independent innovation and developed a large number of core technologies with independent intellectual property rights. The localization rate of key components reached 100 percent.
With the launch of the Shenzhou-15 mission, the space station will enter a phase of application and development lasting more than 10 years. "In the past 30 years, we have overcome many technical difficulties, such as the technologies of shuttling between space and Earth, extravehicular activity, rendezvous, and docking," said Yang Liwei, the country's first "taikonaut" in orbit since he entered space with Shenzhou-5 in October 2003. So far, a total of 12 astronauts on four missions, Shenzhou-12, Shenzhou-13, Shenzhou-14, and Shenzhou-15, have participated in the in-orbit construction of the space station.
What's behind China's space programme expansion
China is a relative late-bloomer when it comes to the world of space exploration. But just 15 years after it first sent an astronaut into orbit, China has become the first country to successfully land a robotic spacecraft on the far side of the Moon.
And in the next decades it plans not only to build a new space station, but also a base on the Moon and conduct missions to Mars. Importantly, Xi Jinping, the country's most powerful leader since Chairman Mao, has thrown his support behind the "space dream" - and with it billions in investment. Chinese state media, meanwhile, have cast the "space dream" as one step in the path to "national rejuvenation".
So why are President Xi and China so keen to make their mark in space - and what does it mean for the rest of the world? According to Prof Keith Hayward, a fellow of the UK's Royal Aeronautical Society, China is being driven by the same motivations as the US, Russia and others:
- First, demand from the military, without which "you would not have had half the money going in".
- Second, as "a good way to show off". "You could say that this is the space Silk Road - it demonstrates China is a force to be reckoned with," Prof Hayward notes.
- Third, hitherto untapped resources which have the potential to make whoever finds them wealthy.
China's Plan for Space Exploration
China is only the third country in history to have put both astronauts into space and to build a space station, after the Soviet Union (now Russia) and the US.
China hopes Tiangong will replace the International Space Station (ISS), which is due to be decommissioned in 2031. Chinese astronauts are currently excluded from the ISS because US law bans its space agency, Nasa, from sharing its data with China.
China's ambitions do not end there. A few years from now it wants to take samples from asteroids near the Earth. By 2030, it aims to have put its first astronauts on the Moon, and to have sent probes to collect samples from Mars and Jupiter.
Chinese space program
Lunar Lander on 144 Dec 2013 & Martian Lander on 6 Jun 2021
The space program of the People's Republic of China is about the activities in outer space conducted and directed by the People's Republic of China. The roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help of the newly allied Soviet Union, China began development of its first ballistic missile and rocket programs in response to the perceived American (and, later, Soviet) threats. Driven by the successes of Soviet Sputnik 1 and American Explorer 1 satellite launches in 1957 and 1958 respectively, China would launch its first satellite, Dong Fang Hong 1 in April 1970 aboard a Long March 1 rocket, making it the fifth nation to place a satellite in orbit.
China has one of the most active space programs in the world. With space launch capability provided by the Long March rocket family and four spaceports (Jiuquan, Taiyuan, Xichang, Wenchang) within its border, China conducts either the highest or the second highest number of orbital launches each year. It operates a satellite fleet consisting of a large number of communications, navigation, remote sensing and scientific research satellites. The scope of its activities has expanded from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars. China is one of the three countries, alongside the United States and Russia, with independent human spaceflight capability.
Currently, most of the space activities carried out by China are managed by the China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force, which directs the astronaut corps and the Chinese Deep Space Network. Major programs include China Manned Space Program, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, Gaofen Observation and Planetary Exploration of China. In recent years, China has conducted several missions, including Chang'e-3, Chang'e-4, Chang'e-5, Tianwen-1 and Tiangong space station.
China’s space programme will go nuclear to power future missions to the moon and Mars
Chinese researchers say chemical fuel and solar panels will no longer be enough to meet the demands of human space exploration, which is expected to expand significantly. Photo: TNS
China is developing a powerful nuclear reactor for its moon and Mars missions, according to researchers involved in the project.
The reactor can generate one megawatt of electric power, 100 times more powerful than a similar device Nasa plans to put on the surface of the moon by 2030.
The project was launched with funding from the central government in 2019. Although technical details and the launch date were not revealed, the engineering design of a prototype machine was completed recently and some critical components have been built, two scientists who took part in the project confirmed to the South China Morning Post this week.
The History of the Chinese Space Program
The history of space exploration in China stretches back to 900 AD, when innovators in the country pioneered the first rudimentary rockets. Although China did not participate in the space race of the mid-20th century, the country had begun to pursue space travel by the late 1950s. The China National Space Administration sent the first Chinese astronaut into space in 2003. Today, China is a major player in the worldwide space exploration effort.
In the mid-20th century, China watched as the U.S. and Soviet Union began their headlong rush to become the first nation on the moon. Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union demonstrated progress towards lofting weapons into orbit, which naturally alarmed China and other countries around the world. In response to these concerns, China began to pursue space travel in the late 1950s in order to deliver its own strategic nuclear and conventional weapons into space. At first, China had a joint cooperation agreement with the Soviet Union, which gave them access to Soviet R-2 rocket technology. However, the accord dissolved in the 1960s, and China began to chart its own path to space, launching its first rockets in September 1960.
Today, China's space program is aimed at eventually sending astronauts to the Moon and beyond. In addition to those types of launches, China has built and orbited two space stations: Tiangong 1 and Tiangong 2. Tiangong 1 has been deorbited, but the second station, Tiangong 2, is still in use and currently houses a variety of science experiments. A third Chinese space station is planned for launch in the early 2020s. If all goes as planned, the new space station will bring astronauts to orbit for long-term missions in research stations and will be serviced by a cargo spacecraft.
China focuses on space exploration
In the past decade, China has conducted several successful space missions to Exploring the Moon and Mars. In addition to your system equipment Satellites s telescopes to explore the universe and open up a field in discovering new frontiers outside Earth. Until 2022, 11 launches from China are planned for the commissioning of two more units, as well as four missions with a human crew planned until 2023, this space station will be fully operational.
In addition to the explorations that China will make with its own devices, the new space station will, in the middle of this decade, serve as a new center for technological exchange around the Earth. In fact, Tianhe was created with a programming language adapted to Russian systems, one of the countries with the longest history outside the planet. Along with the goal of creating its first space station, China has also turned its eyes to Mars again. But to get to this point, he developed an extensive career on the moon, where he already owns an exploration vehicle in the less explored part of the satellite and thanks to him he brought several samples to Earth for analysis in the laboratory. This was possible thanks to Chang’e Mission 5, whose devices collected two kilograms of soil and rocks for their research. After its success on the Moon, where it first arrived in the 1970s, China’s next frontier was Mars. And that was only in 2021 when it became the third country after that United State s Russia, to reach the planet with one of the most advanced exploration tools at the moment. Usually, explorations of Mars were conducted in two stages. Initially, sensors or satellites are sent to gather information about the place. Then, as with errands Curiosity of a perseverance, Scientists send vehicles or drones to do exploration on Earth.
In the case of China, its exploration on Mars is among the most ambitious of all. The country launched three devices simultaneously, all working at the same time sharing data in real time. The first is a probe with high-resolution cameras to find out the structure of the planet. The second is the “probe” which serves as a kind of small laboratory and communication center to know the status of the third equipment: Rover or space exploration vehicle مركبة. The Zhurong rover will be responsible for making the first explorations on the surface of Mars. In fact, June 11 China National Space Administration (ANEC). He published the first color photos taken by the tools of this car. For this task, China focused on three specific components: finding data on water; Determine the presence of ice on the ground and subsoil; Finding signs of life on Mars. To complete this goal, the “rover” has a complex set of tools: an active particle analyzer. other ion analyzer and neutral particle; Two radar cameras under the surface. In principle, it can work at full capacity for three months and then the useful life of the parts will be extended.
How China is taking on the world in space
Now the last time I mentioned China’s 2007 test I got some flak in the comments for picking on China, so yes, other nations have also done the similar things and its legacy of space junk is typical of early missions in many national space programmes. In the 1950s, global powers faced the likelihood that Low Earth Orbit would become a new battleground overhead, and control of that space would be a deciding factor in future wars.
In 1958 Chairman Mao Zedong announced a plan to develop a space launch capability from the country’s ballistic missile program. However, when relations between the Soviet Union and China cooled in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Russian technical assistance stopped. Although the Chinese economy grew slowly through the 60’s and 70’s they did become the fifth nation to independently develop and launch their own satellite system with the Long March 1 rocket and the Fang Hong Dong 1 satellite in April of 1970. Over next two decades, plans for manned space-flight were put on hold but the space launches did continue to deploy mostly Chinese satellites. In fact, to date, there have been 258 launches using the Long March family of rockets with a success rate of 94.6%. 11 more launches were made with the Feng Bao 1 rocket, although that was retired in 1981 with a rather lower success rate of 63%.
It took until 1992 before the leadership of a modernised China saw value in a space program again, as a way to stimulate and demonstrate advances in engineering and science. In 1992 ‘Project 921’ was approved: its objective, to establish a manned Chinese presence in space. Now you may be wondering why we don’t see the Chinese on the ISS and working with NASA like the other cold war enemy Russia. Well in 2011, the US Congress passed a spending bill that forbids NASA working with China or Chinese astronauts because they believe China will to use its space program to transform itself into a military, economic, and technological power that may come at the expense of U.S. leadership and would have serious implications for U.S. interests. A copy of the report is available for those interested in the link showing.
China’s Space Mission: The Long March To The Moon And Mars
Called Tiangong (天宫) or Heavenly Palace, the 60-ton space station will be constructed in orbit from a series of modules launched over the next few years. After the initial trials in docking and rendezvous, it will be manned by a three-man crew. The present International Space Station (ISS) weighs 419 tons and generally has a six-man crew or more.
For quite some time, the US has been trying its best to include China in the ISS program, but the Chinese response has been lukewarm. The Chinese space station program envisages two spacecraft – Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 – being launched in 2012, which will dock with the Tiangong-1 module. The Chinese have invited scientists from all over the world to participate in the project, and speculation is rife that a Pakistani scientist could perhaps be one of the earliest guests.
China Is Winning the Space Race
China’s history of exploration and commercialization of space began around the same time the USSR and the USA were locked in their infamous Space Race. It was after the first US moon landing that China, then under Mao Zedong, moved from working solely on launching ballistic missiles, to working on a program to ultimately launch a manned crew in China’s effort not to be left behind. But no one noticed as the focus was on the US vs. USSR Cold War competition.
In the 1970s, the Chinese government developed a series of rockets called the Long March 1. It was with this series that China successfully launched its first in a series of satellites into orbit. Overall, the series was widely considered successful. Project 714, adopted in 1971, was to be the first Chinese manned launch into space, but the project was canceled due to political turmoil. After the denouncement of the Cultural Revolution, most space programs in China halted altogether. While China continued development on the Long March rocket series and other satellite missions through the 80’s and 90’s, they were largely unsuccessful.
That all changed in 2003 when China became the third nation in the world to send a successful, crewed rocket into space aboard the Shenzhou 5 and return them safely to Earth. They have not stopped doing so since and Chinese space missions have taken off like, well, a rocket. In 2011, China launched their first space station, the Tiangong 1. While it was compatible with the International Space Station, though the Chinese government was barred from taking part in the ISS missions over concerns that their space program had ties to their military, a U.S. fears that continue to this day to overshadow China’s program and prevents meaningful cooperative efforts. Two crewed rockets launched in 2011 and 2012 successfully docked with Tiangong 1. When Tiangong 1 was retired in 2016 (and re-entered Earth’s atmosphere in 2018), China launched Tiangong 2. The first manned crew boarded in the same year and it has been manned ever since.
China's six astronauts in two missions make historic gathering in space
This image captured at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China shows the Shenzhou-15 and Shenzhou-14 crew taking a group picture with their thumbs up after a historic gathering in space on Nov. 30, 2022
The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-15 spaceship entered the country's space station and met with another astronaut trio on Wednesday, a historic gathering that added the manpower at the in-orbit space lab to six for the first time.
Chen Dong, the commander of the Shenzhou-14 crew, opened the hatch at 7:33 a.m. (Beijing Time). The three space station occupants greeted the new arrivals with warm hugs and then they took a group picture with their thumbs up, shouting in chorus -- "China's space station is always worth looking forward to."
The space reunion kicked off the first in-orbit crew rotation in China's space station, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). The six astronauts are projected to live and work together for about five days to complete planned tasks and handover work, said the CMSA.
related:
China Is Now a Major Space Power
The Long March-5B Y4 carrier rocket, carrying the space lab module Mengtian, blasts off from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site in south China's Hainan Province.PHOTOGRAPH: HU ZHIXUAN/XINHUA/GETTY IMAGES
THE SIZE OF the neighborhood in low Earth orbit has now officially doubled. On October 31, China launched the final piece of its new Tiangong space station, completing its construction. The 18-meter lab module, named Mengtian (meaning “dreaming of the heavens”), enables a range of scientific experiments and now allows the station to accommodate up to six people at a time. It currently hosts commander Chen Dong and two other astronauts.
It’s a significant accomplishment for China’s rapidly growing space program, which plans to build a base on the moon, deploy a lunar rover, and send new landers and orbiters to Mars. It’s also the first long-term neighbor the International Space Station has had since Russia’s Mir station was deorbited in 2001. (China flew two Tiangong experimental prototypes between 2011 and 2019, but they are no longer orbiting.) “This is important for the Chinese space program. The International Space Station won’t run for much longer. You may well end up with only one orbiting space station—the Chinese one,” says Fabio Tronchetti, a space law professor at Beihang University in Beijing and the University of Mississippi.
The Chinese space program plans to have Tiangong last for 10 to 15 years, with the possibility of extending its lifespan, Tronchetti says. The much larger ISS, operated by the United States, the European Space Agency, Russia, and other partners, could be retired as soon as 2030—that’s the end date the Biden administration gave it after extending its mission last year. (Earlier this year, Russia threatened to pull out by 2024, thanks to the ongoing geopolitical tensions that followed its invasion of Ukraine. But space analysts now expect Russia to continue its support until 2030 as well.)
China's Space Station Will Be Open to Science from All UN Nations
Artist's illustration of China's planned space station, which the nation aims to have up and running by 2022. (Image credit: CMSE)
China is working with the United Nations to help arrange scientific experiments aboard that country's space station.
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and China's Manned Space Agency have invited applications from UN member states to conduct experiments on China's space station (CSS). In 2016, the two signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to develop the space capabilities of UN member states via opportunities to use the station, which China expects to be operational by 2022. [Gallery: Tiangong 1, China's First Space Laboratory]
The "announcement of opportunity" and application instructions for this initiative were released at a ceremony hosted by UNOOSA and the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Vienna on Monday (May 28).
related:
China to provide training for foreign astronauts
This simulated image captured at Beijing Aerospace Control Center on Nov. 12, 2022 shows China's cargo spacecraft Tianzhou 5 having conducted a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the combination of the space station Tiangong. [Photo/Xinhua]
The China Manned Space Agency is doing preparatory work for the training of foreign astronauts to fly aboard the nation's Tiangong space station, said Ji Qiming, assistant director of the agency. Ji said several nations have expressed to China their wish to send their astronauts to the Tiangong station.
"China is negotiating with relevant parties on this matter. We are actively preparing for training work for foreign astronauts," he said. After Tiangong's completion, China will continue to cooperate with foreign countries and regions that are dedicated to the peaceful use of space to carry out more joint projects, so that Tiangong's scientific and technological achievements can benefit all people around the world, Ji said.
China has also offered opportunities to foreign scientists to use the Tiangong station to advance their research, he added. "Currently, multiple space science programs that we have selected together with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the European Space Agency are proceeding well according to schedule. We will start sending their equipment to our space station in 2023," he said.
Shenzhou (spacecraft)
Shenzhou consists of three modules: a forward orbital module (轨道舱), a reentry module (返回舱) in the middle, and an aft service module (推进舱)
Shenzhou (Chinese: 神舟; pinyin: Shénzhōu, /ˈʃɛnˈdʒoʊ/; see § Etymology) is a spacecraft developed and operated by China to support its crewed spaceflight program, China Manned Space Program. Its design resembles the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, but it is larger in size. The first launch was on 19 November 1999 and the first crewed launch was on 15 October 2003. In March 2005, an asteroid was named 8256 Shenzhou in honour of the spacecraft.
The literal meaning of the native name 神舟 (p: Shénzhōu; /ˈʃɛnˈdʒoʊ/) is "the Divine vessel [on the Heavenly River]", to which Heavenly River (天河) means the Milky Way in Classical Chinese. 神舟 is a pun and neologism that plays on the poetic word referring to China, 神州, meaning Divine realm, which bears the same pronunciation. For further information, refer to Chinese theology, Chinese astronomy and names of China.
Shenzhou consists of three modules: a forward orbital module (轨道舱), a reentry module (返回舱) in the middle, and an aft service module (推进舱). This division is based on the principle of minimizing the amount of material to be returned to Earth. Anything placed in the orbital or service modules does not require heat shielding, increasing the space available in the spacecraft without increasing weight as much as it would if those modules were also able to withstand reentry. The Shenzhou spacecrafts are:
Long March (rocket family)
Comparison of Long March rockets
The Long March series has performed more than 350 launches, including missions to low-Earth orbit, sun-synchronous orbit, geostationary transfer orbit, and Earth-moon transfer orbit. The new-generation carrier rockets, Long March 5, Long March 6, Long March 7, Long March 11, and Long March 8, have made their maiden flights. Among them, the Long March 5 has a low-Earth orbit carrying capacity of 25,000 kilograms, and a geosynchronous transfer orbit carrying capacity of 14,000 kilograms. The Long March rockets have subsequently maintained an excellent reliability record. Since 2010, Long March launches have made up 15–25% of all space launches globally. Growing domestic demand has maintained a healthy manifest. International deals have been secured through a package deal that bundles the launch with a Chinese satellite, circumventing the United States embargo.
The Long March rockets are organized into several series (There is no Long March 10):
related: List of Long March launches
