“Space actually should be an issue in this district.”

An issue maybe, the second in his list? Well he got 1%, clear enough I’d say.

(But I’m not holding my breath as I do.)

The rational response to a Chinese landing on the moon wouldn’t be to launch a 20 year $200B Apollo reenactment. It would be much faster to catch up with commercially derived launch vehicles and capsules – use what you have on hand. In fact, the correct response would be to scrap the glacially paced, exorbitantly priced HLV program.

It appears China’s threshold of ‘excitement’ is not the same as yours.

Or just maybe excitement’s not among their motivations. (or at least very low on the list)

Or maybe they understand the limits of their technology and budget better than you. (not yet able, not yet affordable)

Or maybe they see (correctly) that a space station is something that’s *part of* and not *instead of* operations beyond LEO. If so, that’s hardly being a ‘copycat’ at all. (Unless you mean they might be ‘copying’ the traditional, pre-Apollo Von Braun ideas that we’re only now coming back to.)

“The sight of the Red China flag planted on Luna firma would be a mind-blowing picture postcard. ”

To other Chinese, perhaps. To those familiar with the major events of 1969…not so much. US flags are still there, there’s just no one with them. (And the appearance of parity with he West is important to China, even if they can’t be first…but for now, that’s a lot of money just for the sake of impressing others. They know how far that got us, too. People get jaded quickly, attention spans are no longer today [and maybe even shorter] than in 1969.)

“The U.S. would then HAVE TO scrap Obamaspace, and send the Flexible Path jokesters away once and for all! ”

So, I assume you would recreate Constellation, that would get us to the Moon by what, 2030? No matter what China or anyone else does? And for an increase in the NASA budget that just will not happen? And with little additional capability for that money than Apollo? All three guys on the surface for just a few times longer than an Apollo mission?

And would the initial Chinese ability be any better? As we also know, just getting a couple of men to the moon a half dozen times, doesn’t automatically lead to permanent bases.

If we were still going to the Moon (and presumably beyond) today, we would have (and indeed wanted to) evolved to a different, totally reusable architecture by now consisting of RLVs, stations (note the plural) orbit to orbit and (possibly nuclear) LEO to Lunar orbit tugs and single-stage, reusable landers for sortie missions to points of interest on the Lunar surface, and support of surface bases and Lunar orbit stations….and not launching Apollo-60 (or so) on another Saturn-V.

Why do we have to ‘copy’ ourselves and go back to something that looks like Apollo first, before getting to that state of space transportation technology? Why would China?

Staging deep space missions has always been one of the reasons for space stations. Our only problem is that we failed to do that so far. Yeah, logistics and infrastructure is ‘dull and boring.’ Someone has to build and maintain highways, airports and harbors, but you’re limited in what you can do, without them. The fanboys who want to get ‘boots on the ground’ in one gravity well or another, ASAP and at all costs (or ‘pray’ that someone else will do that, and induce us to again put reaction and deadline ahead of affordability and sustainability) just don’t get that…

Possibly China does.

Totalitarian regime or not, I pray nightly that the Chinese will get off the copycat bandwagon of dull, boring space stations in LEO, and finally decide that sending taikonauts to the Moon, is the way to go! They would stun the world with this grandiose accomplishment.<

keep praying…Rick Perry has tried to get prayer involved in the rain issue here in Texas…

of course be careful what you wish for…the "accomplishment" might also be a big yawner…RGO

Wow. Where to start. Ok, put aside the fact that we’ve already been there–six times–forty years ago. You can also put aside the fact that such a socialist inspired program like that is economically unsustainable in the long run. We found that out the hard way.

A government run, lunar program like this cannot (please excuse the pun) occur in a vacuum. At the height of the U.S. space program in the 1960’s, and in preparation to go to the moon, NASA launched over FIFTEEN human missions in a period of about FIVE years. NASA was launching a Gemini mission about once every three months, performing long duration flights, EVA’s and in-space rendezvous’.

Now let’s compare that with what the Chinese have done. A one-man mission eight years ago. A two-man mission six years ago. And finally, a three-man mission with one twenty minute EVA three years ago.

Given all that, do you honestly expect us to believe that the Chinese are currently in some kind of race to get to the moon?

Get real. When the Chinese start launching twice a year, gimme a call back.

“The great U.S. of A. would have a re-created manned Lunar venture, run by the government, very shortly after”

So you’re saying that the Chinese, who are obviously very sneaky, would send their taikonauts to the Moon as a nefarious plan to get us to borrow more money from them?

That’s BRILLIANT!

And you’re saying that we would fall for that?

I mean really, all they have to do is spend probably less than $1B, and they’ll reap the rewards of us borrowing $100B or more from them to build your lunar bases.

I’m sure some idiots in Congress would fall for that – would you?

No, Chris, they would not stun the world. People would be impressed, but not stunned, that happened in 1969, remember?

The U.S. would not have to scrap Obamaspace.

Imagine this mind-blowing picture: Taikonauts, with flag on Moon, with in the background in the dark ‘sky’ the sight of Nautilus-X on its way to Mars or one of the moons of Jupiter!

China stuck on the Moon and we on our way to the Solar System, thanks to Obamaspace!