2008 Woodie Awards
The United States vs China: The New Space Race
Ian Wells
Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
Since Neil Armstrong first landed on the moon, the United States of America has been the super power in space technology and exploration. His historic steps ended the space race between the USA and USSR. What has the USA done with its lead to ensure it kept its superiority in space?
The idle USA will not enjoy the benefit of space superiority for much longer. China has joined the space race with the USA, though many are unaware of how quickly China is catching up. In the public eye, China is an infant in space, having only three persons in space over two manned missions.
The USA will be surpassed by China regardless of what the USA is able to do. The Chinese have a large state-of-the-art facility which employs over 400,000 well trained and well educated workers and engineers. The current American facility is an antique from the 1950's with equipment nearly 30 years old. The entire National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) employs close to 40,000 engineers and technicians.
The argument can be made that the USA has years of experience with space travel, yet what can our current technology accomplish? We currently have the capability of taking manned missions to an altitude of about 500 kilometers above the Earth's surface. China currently has a spacecraft capable of taking manned missions to the moon, though the craft is untested. Although China is an infant in space, they have been able to learn from the world's many years of successes, and even more from the world's failures.
The USA can reinstate its superiority in space by making preparations now for the next 15 to 30 years. The first change needs to occur in the way of education. The more engineers and trained technicians that are available will allow for more production, innovation, and invention.
Once a higher constant output of educated workers is in place, an upgrade to the current facilities is required. The new facilities need to accommodate old, current, and the possibility of future technology.
The largest barrier to these possible changes, not shockingly, is money. Currently the budget for NASA is 15 billion dollars. Although this sounds like a large amount of money, one must put it in perspective. The Department of Defense's funds are 440 billion dollars, with the war in Iraq costing close to 275 billion dollars. There are many political issues involved, yet compared to the Department of Defense, NASA is more like a petulant child.
With its current funds, NASA is able to maintain and further projects such as the Space Shuttle Program, Hubble Space Telescope, Mars Missions, International Space Station upgrades and maintenance. Since world cooperation and assistance has assured the existence and survival of many of these missions, maybe the USA, China, and the rest of the world can continue to unite in global space cooperation. Through this partnership, it is possible to eliminate the space race altogether, and create instead a united world goal.
The idle USA will not enjoy the benefit of space superiority for much longer. China has joined the space race with the USA, though many are unaware of how quickly China is catching up. In the public eye, China is an infant in space, having only three persons in space over two manned missions.
The USA will be surpassed by China regardless of what the USA is able to do. The Chinese have a large state-of-the-art facility which employs over 400,000 well trained and well educated workers and engineers. The current American facility is an antique from the 1950's with equipment nearly 30 years old. The entire National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) employs close to 40,000 engineers and technicians.
The argument can be made that the USA has years of experience with space travel, yet what can our current technology accomplish? We currently have the capability of taking manned missions to an altitude of about 500 kilometers above the Earth's surface. China currently has a spacecraft capable of taking manned missions to the moon, though the craft is untested. Although China is an infant in space, they have been able to learn from the world's many years of successes, and even more from the world's failures.
The USA can reinstate its superiority in space by making preparations now for the next 15 to 30 years. The first change needs to occur in the way of education. The more engineers and trained technicians that are available will allow for more production, innovation, and invention.
Once a higher constant output of educated workers is in place, an upgrade to the current facilities is required. The new facilities need to accommodate old, current, and the possibility of future technology.
The largest barrier to these possible changes, not shockingly, is money. Currently the budget for NASA is 15 billion dollars. Although this sounds like a large amount of money, one must put it in perspective. The Department of Defense's funds are 440 billion dollars, with the war in Iraq costing close to 275 billion dollars. There are many political issues involved, yet compared to the Department of Defense, NASA is more like a petulant child.
With its current funds, NASA is able to maintain and further projects such as the Space Shuttle Program, Hubble Space Telescope, Mars Missions, International Space Station upgrades and maintenance. Since world cooperation and assistance has assured the existence and survival of many of these missions, maybe the USA, China, and the rest of the world can continue to unite in global space cooperation. Through this partnership, it is possible to eliminate the space race altogether, and create instead a united world goal.
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