China in Space

Published: October 19, 2003

China's successful launching of a man into space last week was a
technological triumph for a still-developing nation. The flight came
more than four decades after the pioneering orbital flights of the
Soviet Union and the United States and relied heavily on Russian
technologies. Although Chinese space leaders are talking grandly of
trips to the moon and Mars, this modest first step should not reignite
the global space race that died out with the end of the cold war.

China's first step into low Earth orbit was a brief 21-hour flight in
which Yang Liwei circled the globe 14 times and then landed safely in
the grasslands of Inner Mongolia. His spacecraft was based on the
Russian Soyuz design but had been enlarged and upgraded by the Chinese
themselves. Chinese officials now talk of establishing a small space
laboratory in coming years, followed by exploration of the moon and a
mission to Mars several decades from now. But whether they can develop
pioneering technologies, not just adapt old Russian designs, is yet to
be determined.

China's space program seems fueled by the same factors that propelled
the American and Russian programs, namely a desire to enhance national
prestige, awe rival powers, spur technological advances and promote
high-tech exports. The feat is already having some impact in Asia, where
a Tokyo newspaper greeted the flight with a headline: "Japan Shocked at
Being Placed Way Behind." That ignores the fact that Japan and the
European powers could clearly have done the same thing years ago but
chose instead to concentrate on other space activities.

Fears have been expressed that China's manned space program may have
military implications. The program could indeed spur development of
materials, robotic systems and other technologies that could be used for
military purposes, and conceivably even lead to manned reconnaissance
vehicles in orbit. But orbiting battle fleets seem more nightmarish than
real. Instead of fearing the nascent Chinese program, we should welcome
it as another way to get crews and cargo into space at a time of crisis,
like that which has grounded the entire American shuttle fleet.


Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company