It's a significant achievement
"China to 'deeply and broadly' go where some have gone before"
A tad condescending aren't we? Not doubt you're comparing their efforts to the UK launched and manned space station - thought so....
China has successfully sent two astronauts into space today to conduct a series of experiments to prepare for the launch of its own space station in 2023. The Long March-2F rocket blasted from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch centre in the Gobi desert, on the border from Northern China, at 7:30am (11:30pm GMT). China’s space …
I have to agree that the OSS operation Paperclip that nabbed 1500 scientists & engineers was better than Operation Osoaviakhim which took >2000 at gunpoint to the Soviet Union.
Some didn't like the Nazis but some were members of the Nazi Party and the SS like von Braun.
Pretty much Hobsons choice for them all - pick a side or pick your firing squad. :-(
Fireball icon for outcome of early launches.
The US Congress banned NASA from co-operating with China. As far as I can tell that happened after Obama had already been asked to ban it himself, but he didn't bother.
(Do I have to mention it was put forward by a Republican politician? From Texas? Nah, we'd all already assumed that right?)
So, thanks Obama! for not actually doing the thing, but still getting blamed for doing the thing.
Can't help thinking that banning the Chinese from the ISS and thus spurring them to build their own space station may produce results contrary to that which the US would prefer. :-}
That aside, I wonder whether it'll be India or Denmark is the next to get a manned ship into space? And either way, I find it as amusing as it is annoying that Demark is liable to beat us in the UK in that particular space race, with a purely amateur effort!
Can't help thinking that banning the Chinese from the ISS and thus spurring them to build their own space station may produce results contrary to that which the US would prefer
Perhaps the US felt that slowing the Chinese down a little was the best they were able to do. To be fair, I also hate it when a new kid turns up and it starts to become clear that in the long term he will clearly be the boss of me.
>@esme - well official UK government policy is that our space programme is strictly an unmanned one. So we're just not in that race at all (rightly or wrongly - discuss!)<
That used to be the case, but the UK actually paid for Tim Peake - so he became the first Brit who didn't need to change nationality to go into space
" [Tim Peake] became the first Brit who didn't need to change nationality to go into space"
Er, Dr Helen Sharman would like a word...
Forgive me, but it was all/only about flag waving on both sides. While NASA might have been interested in doing a bit of science, it was all flag waving by both governments that coughed up the funds. Cold war and all.