A group of Congressmen visiting China report that China has raised the possibility of cooperating with the US in space. According to the AP and Reuters, Chinese officials meeting with the Congressional delegation discussed a proposal to re-engineer the docking system on China’s Shenzhou spacecraft so it is compatible with the ISS and other US and Russian manned spacecraft. The reports don’t make it clear who brought up the proposal, although Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), co-chair of the delegation, told the AP that the Chinese officials were more enthusiastic about that proposal than some other military cooperation options. Such cooperation could improve relations between the two countries on space issues and defuse any notions of a race between the US and China, as noted at a symposium on China’s space program last fall.
In the article that Dr. Foust links to I wrote:
“Perhaps the most important conclusion reached by the speakers was that prospects for space cooperation between China and the United States are remote because the two countries have fundamentally different ideas of what is necessary for cooperation to occur. The Chinese believe that space cooperation could help improve relations between the two countries. They view it as a steppingstone toward better understanding. In contrast, the American government believes that cooperation can only occur after the political relationship between the two countries has improved. Space cooperation would then be a reward and/or a symbol of closer ties.”
What does Beijing actually want?
I see no problem with them docking their chop socky Soyuz at the ISS, unless the real agenda is for Uncle Sugar to pay the Chinese for space launches.
“What does Beijing actually want?”
Respectability. They want to be viewed as a legitimate technological power, on par with the West and Russia. Docking at ISS would signal that they have arrived as a modern society.
It would be powerfully symbolic, and that is one reason to consider not granting it to them. But I suggest reading my article, which is a summary of a conference where a number of China and space experts discussed that subject.
Where can we find your article?
The article was linked to by Dr. Foust in the original post. But you can find it here:
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/492/1
As I noted, this is primarily a summary of a conference that I attened in Washington, DC.
If Mr. Day is correct, it sounds like China has adapted what was the American strategy toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War (and when Mr. Clinton brought them into the Space Station). Use cooperation on limited (and what were viewed as relatively unimportant) projects to encourage “good behavior” in your opponent.
— Donald
I’m answering these in reverse order:
Use cooperation on limited (and what were viewed as relatively unimportant) projects to encourage “good behavior” in your opponent.
Donald, how or why should Chinese flights to the ISS as helpful “cooperation”?
what was the American strategy toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War
American space strategy vis 1a vis the USSR prior to the disintegration of same was to beat the Rooskies in the race to the Moon. I don’t see any cooperation there.
Oh OK, the Apollo Soyuz rendezvous make us all love each other.
… (and when Mr. Clinton brought them into the Space Station)
The ISS is and was a mistake. The evil Bracnh Clintonian cult did not initiatiate Russian involvment in the lovely ISS. The Reagan and the Bush I admin.’s laid the ground work for the International Space Station spasm.
And what has cooperating on the ISS with the Rooskies accomplished? Not much. Vlad the Bad’s regime today is helping the Iranians build A-bombs.
If Mr. Day is correct, it sounds like China has adapted what was the American strategy toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War (and when Mr. Clinton brought them into the Space Station). Use cooperation on limited (and what were viewed as relatively unimportant) projects to encourage “good behavior” in your opponent.
A strategy now thoroughly discredited. Apollo-Soyuz failed to encourage the Soviets from invading Afghanistan, and ISS failed to encourage the Russians from proliferating weapons, missile technology, and nuclear technology to Iran. Chinese access to ISS will, more likely than not, fail to encourage them not to invade Taiwan if they perceive it’s otherwise in their interests to do so.
Space cooperation with China should be withheld and granted only as a reward for good behavior, not granted up-front in the naive hope of encouraging good behavior later.
I think this is a response to Sino-US cooperation on the Commander in Chief TV program.
There are some pragmatic benefits to space cooperation that can be argued from realist reasons rather than symbolic cooperation for political points.
A universal docking mechanism between Chinese/US/Russia/ISS manned spacecraft could prove very valuable in an emergency. The Navy’s submersible DSRV had a US/Soviet docking port that allowed it to be able to rescue any submarine. I don’t think that signaled that we liked the Soviets anymore, it was simply an action to protect submariners’ lives.
Would a similar space docking port be acceptible for reasons other than coddling China?
A universal docking mechanism between Chinese/US/Russia/ISS manned spacecraft could prove very valuable in an emergency.
The US and Russia already have such a docking mechanism on ISS (APAS), so all China has to do is buy the things from RSC Energia like NASA, Rockwell, and Boeing have done. There’s no need to “coddle” them.
Co-operating in space may be what is needed to co-operate on earth.
> Co-operating in space may be what is needed to
> co-operate on earth.
The track record so far says it’s the other way around: cooperation in space does not necessarily lead to cooperation on Earth (Apollo-Soyuz didn’t keep the Soviets from invading Afghanistan, or stationing SS-20s in Europe) while lack of cooperation on Earth hinders cooperation in space (Iran-Syria nonproliferation).