It’s taken them decades, but China is finally catching up in the space exploration department. Their first manned mission came about ten years ago and since, they’ve been working hard to make a name for themselves as one of the top space contenders. This ambition was further advanced just a few days ago, when they sent up their latest manned space mission.
The rocket is called the Shenzhou-10 and will carry three astronauts from Earth to the Tiangong-1, China’s space station project. This mission has the distinction of carrying an astronaut who is not only the second ever Chinese woman in space, but also the youngest Chinese astronaut ever. Shenshou-10 will conduct a 15-day mission that will have it docking with the Tiangong-1 twice, once under autopilot and once manually. This is fifth manned space launch for the country and will, if successful, be their longest ever.
Naturally, the Chinese media has taken this opportunity to boast of their country’s great deeds and benevolent intentions. They’ve stated that, while not up to the level of other space faring countries (yet), they have no intention of using space for military purposes, instead hoping to advance the field of space exploration for the good of the world. They also made sure to mention that the space launch is a great sign of China’s growing economic power.
With six launches and ten astronauts making the trip into space in less than a decade, China is remaining active and true to its ambitions. The next stage of their plan consists of getting the Tiangong-1 space station fully functional by the year 2020, just in time for the proposed retirement of the International Space Station. If they manage to pull it off, they will have the only working space station in orbit. I sincerely wish China all the best in its race to the stars and hopefully this achievement will help them to realize that in order to explore space, we need to first work out peaceful solutions here on Earth.
Shenzhou-10 photo courtesy of upi.com
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