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DefenseNo space warNo space war – China wants peaceful space useMcKenzie, 15 David McKenzie is an award-winning international correspondent for CNN based in Johannesburg, South Africa. May 29, 2015. “Chinese astronaut calls for cooperation, access to International Space Station” CNN http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/28/asia/china-space-mckenzie/ China wants greater cooperation with other nations in space, particularly the United States, the country's most experienced astronaut has told CNN in an exclusive interview. Fifteen nations including the United States, Russia and Japan cooperate on International Space Station missions, but China's involvement has always been a non-starter because of longstanding resistance from U.S. legislators. "As an astronaut, I have a strong desire to fly with astronauts from other countries. I also look forward to going to the International Space Station," Commander Nie Haisheng told CNN. "...Space is a family affair, many countries are developing their space programs and China, as a big country, should make our own contributions in this field." The comments came during a wide-ranging and exclusive interview with the three-person crew of the Shenzhou-10 mission inside Space City, the center of China's space program, near Beijing last month. In 2011, Congress passed an act to bar NASA from having any bilateral contact with individuals of the Chinese space program because of national security fears. "Every time it gets mentioned at all anywhere near Congress, it gets shut down immediately," space analyst Miles O'Brien told CNN. "There is tremendous skepticism there about China. It is viewed as a foe, it is viewed as a government that seeks to take our intellectual property -- our national secrets and treasure." In a white paper released Tuesday, China said that outer space had become an area of "strategic competition." "The Chinese government has always advocated the peaceful use of outer space, it opposes space weaponization and an arms race in outer space. This position will not be changed," Wang Jin, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, said. A recent report for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said China's improving space capabilities had "negative sum consequences for U.S. military security." But Nie discounted those fears. "The United States and Russia started their space programs early. They are the pioneers," he said. He says foreign astronauts are welcome to visit China's own space station once it is launched. The Chinese expect to finish their space station by 2022 -- around the time International Space Station runs out of funding, potentially leaving China as the only country with a permanent presence in space. China launched its manned space program in 1992. It initially borrowed and bought a great deal of Russian technology, primarily by replicating their Soyuz space craft -- which they dubbed the Shenzhou. But it has been steadily checking off the boxes in manned space flight. In 2003, it put its first man in space. In 2008, it completed its first space walk. And in 2013 Nie and his crew completed the country's longest space mission to date and twice docked with the Tiangong-1 space lab. With support from the highest echelons of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and exceptionally deep pockets, most analysts believe China's space program could become a world leader. Download 357.18 Kb. Share with your friends:
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