Is the world in for a new space race? That’s the question that’s being posed after Chinese astronauts successfully journeyed to their own space station. Microsoft News Is reporting that:
The morning rocket launch in northwest China sent a spacecraft carrying three astronauts into Earth’s orbit, where it docked with the still-under-construction space station later in the day.
The liftoff, which Chinese officials called a “complete success,” marks the first time in five years that China has sent a crewed mission to space. It comes amid a flurry of Chinese achievements in space that have spurred the United States to speed some of its own plans.
The Wall Street Journal provided more details on the awesome achievement:
Mr. Liu and two other former members of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force blasted off aboard Shenzhou-12—“Divine Vessel” in Chinese—with a Long March-2F carrier rocket from a launch center in northwest China.
Now, government officials, scientists, and others are wondering if China’s bid for venturing to the stars has sparked a new space race, much like the competition between the former Soviet Union and the United States led to a competition to see who could land a man on the moon first. Unless you’re one of those kooks who think the moon landing was a hoax, you know that the U.S. kicked the Soviet Union’s ass by landing two astronauts on the moon on July 20, 1969. While the U.S. launched several subsequent moon missions, it never followed up with what many saw as the next logical step; sending astronauts to Mars.
Since then, the U.S. has been sitting on its ass and at one point, was mooching rides from the Russian space program. Thankfully, billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have stepped up in their private efforts to fly out into space, with Mr. Musk hoping to build a city on Mars by 2050.
In the meantime, you can be sure the Chinese government is only getting started and who is to blame them? It’s believed that the moon has some rich resources and there’s no telling what benefits humanity can derive from space exploration. Congratulations to the Chinese on doing what the United States and Russia did 40 years ago and let it be a wake-up call that there’s always someone looking to get ahead.
Indeed, the People’s Republic of China have moved at an incredible pace in their space program, with the Microsoft News article noting:
The Chinese space station represents another milestone for the country, which didn’t launch an astronaut into space until 2003 — more than 40 years after the United States and the Soviet Union — but has since developed its space program at a torrid pace.
You can be certain that this is only the beginning as China looks to prove it is a world force and if things continue, a force in outer space. Meanwhile, “Creepy” Joe Biden tries to advance to level three on Candy Crush while Congress looks for the perpetrators behind the January 6, 2021 Capitol chaos while conveniently ignoring the FBI agents who allegedly organized it.
