SocialPipeline 04/21/2012 (p.m.)

• Why You Should Worry About China's First Space Station

  • China has always played these objections to their advantage, giving the impression that they want to play nice but the other space kids don't let them play. But their ultimate space plans and reality say other things. In fact, Tiangong-1 contradicts China's own words. Back on June 7, 2011, Yang Liwei, deputy head of China's Manned Space Engineering Office and China's first astronaut in space, said that "China has enormous potential to cooperate with other countries in the field of space development [...] China is willing to make positive efforts in this regard."

     

  • Liwei later said that China wanted to develop docking technology compatible with the International Space Station. But, during a July 8 press conference, he recognized that Tiangong-1 isn't compatible with the ISS. How can they prove to the international space community that they can and want to collaborate when they aren't going to test their future docking tests according to ISS standards?

     

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