The New Space Race: China vs. USA

ISBN-13: 9781441908797 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 256 str.

Erik Seedhouse

Opis

The world s most populous nation views space as an asset, not only from a technological and commercial perspective, but also from a political and militaristic one. The repercussions of this ideology already extend far beyond Washington. China vs. United States offers a glimpse of future Chinese aspirations in space and the politico-militaristic implications of a looming space race, and explains why an interplanetary spaceship called the Tsien Hsue Shen might one day travel to the outer planets. Until China successfully launched taikonauts into orbit, China s space program had attracted little international attention. The book opens with an analysis of the short fifteen-year history of the China National Space Administration and its long list of accomplishments. Chapter 2 assesses Sino-U.S. technological and commercial interests in space and their implications in fuelling a potential space race. The national security objectives of the U.S. and China are examined, showing how their intentions are increasingly leading to the military integration of space technologies. Chapter 3 describes China s anxieties about U.S. space power, its obsession with national prestige, and how manned spaceflight is viewed as a crucial element to sustain the legitimacy of the Communist Party. China is currently focusing on similar goals to those of NASA s Constellation Program - lunar and Mars exploration. The following chapter examines the ambitious plans of both nations, and evaluates whether China s bold goal of landing taikonauts on the Moon by 2020 is matched by the necessary capability. In Chapter 5 Dr Seedhouse describes the space hardware being developed by the U.S. and China and the strides taken by China in its attempt to match the technological capability of the U.S. The following chapter provides an overview of China s introductory manned spaceflights and shows how, despite a lack of experience, the Chinese may soon be in a position to challenge the U.S. in a race to the Moon. In Chapter 7, the author discusses how China s manned space program can boost the country s international prestige and also examines the notion of manned spaceflight as a risky way to boost national status and the potential implications of a disaster akin to Challenger and Columbia. Chapter 8 addresses the questions of alliances and cooperation between NASA and ESA and China and Russia, or, alternatively, the U.S. and China pursuing their space ambitions alone. The implications of each way forward in the context of a looming competition in space are considered. Chapter 9 discusses the repercussions of a Chinese space program overtaking NASA and whether the U.S. has the political will to advance its own space program to prevent its position as sole space superpower being usurped. Given the mutual suspicions existing in both countries, it is perhaps inevitable that Washington and Beijing are on a collision course in space. The final chapter describes the implications of such a confrontation and discusses what, if anything, can be done to avert a new space race."

Recenzje

From the reviews:
"This book is exceptional for bringing together a vast amount of information on the space programmes of both the US and China in a single volume. ... provides an exhaustive catalogue of the hardware and space assets of both countries along with documenting their space command and control facilities, enabling quicker assessment of comparative capabilities. ... For anyone interested in understanding the development of China's space technology, its probable aims and the future course of space exploration and exploitation, this book will indeed prove valuable." (Rukmani Gupta, Journal of Defence Studies, Vol. 4 (4), October, 2010)

Spis treści

High Frontier Politics.- Rising dragon.- US and Chinese space policy.- Dark Arena.- Space warfare doctrine.- Military space assets.- Exploding China’s dreams.- The Second Space Race.- Chinese and American space exploration programs.- Current and future hardware.- Manned spaceflight experience.- Why Cooperation Won’t Work and Why a New Space Race is Looming.- The case for and against collaboration with China.- The imminent space race.

O autorze

Dr. Erik Seedhouse worked as an Astronaut Training Consultant for Bigelow Aerospace in 2005, a company for whom he wrote the Spaceflight Participants Flight Surgeon's Manual. He also developed astronaut-training protocols for future spaceflight participants and wrote and edited several chapters of Bigelow Aerospace's Astronaut Training Manual. Erik is a research scientist specializing in environmental life sciences and physiology, the subject in which he obtained his PhD in Physiology while working for the European Space Agency between 1996 and 1998. In 2009, he was one of the final candidates for selection as an astronaut in the CSA's Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. He is also Training Director for for Hire.