Chinese launching 2 space stations....one openly military

[Trooper110]

Take bets on if someone tries to shoot it down?
And aimed for 2010....right as the US loses access to space for a few years with the Shuttle program being shut down....

SPACE.com -- China Readies Military Space Station for 2010 Launch

[Skud]

skimmed through the article.

have to leave for work soon...but just wanted to say that if they find a way to mess with our satellites, GPS, we'd be in a heap o trouble if a scrap came about.

[Hammy]

Cmon now
Stop with the evil agenda's. I think what is hysterical is the level of fear we have of these guys, when if we roll back the clock to 1815 thru today, we have been no different than China.

Human rights didnt actually become humane until the Depression subsided and there was a shove for business safety.

Dont believe me? The Oxford History of America is something I have been reading since November, and right now, the US has just survived the war with Britain and we are already mouthing off and telling the world that if you are in our backyard uninvited you will have your head handed back to you in a tinderbox.

BTW- this History of America has the highest rating in terms of accuracy.

Anyways, the point here is- the Military Station could be many things other than Subvertive. NASA is funded by the US government, and while technically they arent a Military entity, what makes them not Military?

Language and context my friends. Borders and Cultures. It's all pretty clear if you can see it from that point of view.

China is going to have a Scientific Platform and a more Government Related Platform. One will do the public work, the other will do the private work from which their government will not only profit but extend their leadership in.

Congratulations for China. NASA is a very lazy FAT cow with TOO many failures in the last 15 years. They need to be put on notice and I hope you hand them their head in a tinder box for a few years so that we can get back to our level set excellence that we have forgone through lack of threat or competition.

[Duke{CLR}]

If they do intend to do anything bad we will at least be prepared after playing Fallout 3.

[Rand{CLR}]

As long as it's not armed, it's ok. The militarization of space treaty just prevents arming anything that goes into orbit, it doesn't stop ownership of unarmed anythings.

That being said, of course it'll be armed, just like some of our birds are very likely armed. Doesn't matter too much; depending on how high it orbits, we could possibly hit it with F-15 launched anti-sat missiles, or just blast it with one of our lasers. The Russians and Chinese have the same sort of lasers that can do it to us. You don't have to do a whole lot of damage to cripple a satellite or station.

The GPS sats are the first thing to go if someone wants to start a war with us; but who wants to bet against the contingency of secret GPS modules set in who knows how many commercial birds?

-Rand

P.S. Hammy, if you're not at least a little afraid of China, you're not paying attention. They scare the bejesus out of me, mainly because they're the only country on the planet that can match us over the next 10-20 years, economically, socially (in terms of their impact on Asia's culture) and militarily.

[{CLR}geneSW]

I personally do not consider China a threat as far as their military goes. Out Navy and Air Force surpass theirs... That's all I will say on the matter.

[Rand{CLR}]

I personally do not consider China a threat as far as their military goes. Out Navy and Air Force surpass theirs... That's all I will say on the matter.

Both of theirs are getting better. They recently surfaced a sub within torpedo distance of one of our carriers (having successfully bypassed all security measures and sonar on the pickets), and their aircraft and pilot training are improving.

Nobody can match our navy in terms of ship quality, and certainly not the carriers, but if you have a couple hundred missiles coming in, you can flood out the Aegis and Standard MK 2 defenses. And they would trade a sub for a carrier any day if they can get that close again. And one area where we are very weak on, especially compared to where we used to be, is the air and (especially) sealift capability. We can't easily move our forces around anymore.

The other thing that's worrisome is the mindset that's been prevailing that nobody can ever match us conventionally, so why bother building the F-22, F-35, new Destroyer, Ford class carrier, Future Combat System, etc. All are in significant danger of being gutted or ended, and their supporters end up fighting the budgetary fight every single year. If you stay stagnant while others improve, eventually you run into some difficulties.

But Gene, don't take it personally. You're justifiably proud of the Air Force in particular, with good reason. But note that I had written 10-20 years. China's not there yet.

But take a step back and look at it from an objective viewpoint. If they continue aggressive expansion, R&D, acquisition of capacities that are specifically designed to exploit US weaknesses, and increased training, while we continue to reduce funding and rely on 20-50 year old airframes, even older ship keels, an inability to even move a single division to a needed location in a timely manner, and a stressed ground force, we're going to be more even in that timeframe than it seems now.

-Rand

[Hammy]

I'm convinced, based on the presence of illegal Chinese on the west coast, that they have already infiltrated us.

I'm not convinced, however, that very much of what we do is a do or die when it comes to China.

If we shut off our demand, China is a very weak country. Thats all I am saying.

They are exactly the right people to compete with right now is all I am saying.

[Apache Warrior]

They are planning to build their own carrier too.
Apache

[Skud]

they are getting there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7922699.stm

Still a ways to go, as many have stated. But when you consider the sheer number of troops with even partial gains in equipment and technology...one cannot discount their presence.

That said, I don't feel that there is really a threat of all out war. But the balance of power in the world...the world's dynamics, are certainly at another crossroad with this recession, the war, etc., if I might be so bold. Throw Russia, Iran, and everybody else into the mix...well, the "big stick" policy days might be over...once again the value of allies and diplomacy becomes clear...call me crazy....

[juneau]

The last time i heard the STS program was going to be continuing beyond 2010 due to the fact that the new rocket (Ares?) is still a way off. I still wish they would continue to use the Shuttle. Looks gorgeous.

[Trooper110]

It's still scheduled to end in 2010, although they've been bandying around talking about extending the life for months now. The plan was to use Russian vehicles for critical access until the Ares program is up and running. Guess we'll see how things go.

[{CLR} Major.Massacre]

As long as it's not armed, it's ok. The militarization of space treaty just prevents arming anything that goes into orbit, it doesn't stop ownership of unarmed anythings.

That being said, of course it'll be armed, just like some of our birds are very likely armed. Doesn't matter too much; depending on how high it orbits, we could possibly hit it with F-15 launched anti-sat missiles, or just blast it with one of our lasers. The Russians and Chinese have the same sort of lasers that can do it to us. You don't have to do a whole lot of damage to cripple a satellite or station.

The GPS sats are the first thing to go if someone wants to start a war with us; but who wants to bet against the contingency of secret GPS modules set in who knows how many commercial birds?

-Rand

P.S. Hammy, if you're not at least a little afraid of China, you're not paying attention. They scare the bejesus out of me, mainly because they're the only country on the planet that can match us over the next 10-20 years, economically, socially (in terms of their impact on Asia's culture) and militarily.

+1

[unorignal]

Stop all the asinine fear mongering.

"All we have to fear is fear itself."

[Skud]

Yeah,

Stop all the asinine fear mongering.

"All we have to fear is fear itself."

"Bring em on!" right?...that always works.

And fear mongering? That's the run up to the Iraq War...a country with no navy, a fraction of the population of China, etc.

No one is saying we should launch pre-emptive strikes here. Being aware of the situation, however, would seem more practical than burying one's head in the sand or watching the grass grow in one's backyard...and that's not even taking into consideration the amount of our debt that they own. But whatever....