Chinese Space Race

China's military has long harbored ambitions of dominating space, as last year's satellite-targeting exercise showed. Now comes news that Chinese engineers may be much further along than previously thought in achieving one of their major goals: building a military space plane....

...At a minimum, Washington should delay the planned 2010 retirement of the Space Shuttle until a new space plane can replace it, as a way to retain a deterring potential military capability. China's unwillingness to comment on its military space plans, coupled with the Shenlong space plane, confirms its larger aversion to military transparency. The U.S. and its allies have little choice but to develop the capabilities to defend their interests and assets in space.

I agree with the author, Mr. Richard Fisher, Jr. about this. The American shuttle fleet should not be retired before a replacement is in place. Some may claim that the shuttles are relics, but for now, NASA's shuttle program is the best method we have to put astronauts and heavy cargo into near earth orbit.

Read...
"...And Races Into Space," from Wall Street Journal Asia
and more...
"Shenlong Space Plane Advances China’s Military Space Potential"

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