News China Invited to Join ISS

[Orbinaut Pete]

According to the head of Roscosmos, Anatoly Perminov, Russia has invited China to join the ISS Program, but has received no response!

International Space Station partners have not received any response from China on a proposal to join the ISS program, Roscosmos Head Anatoly Perminov stated during the International Economical Forum in St. Petersburg.
Speaking about Russian role in the program, Perminov reminded that US shuttles are to be retired soon, leaving Soyuz to maintain crew transportation services solely for the ISS, Interfax informs.
"This is rather dangerous, any expert recognizes that. There must a backup for the Soyuz.We wish some country would have it, and we contacted China with its human spaceflight program mature enough to maintain crew transportation in the program, asking to join the ISS partnership. However there was no response", Perminov said.

Source.

 

[Arthur Dent]

Didn't they want private companies as an alternative to the shuttle? I thought they were going to rely on Dragon/Falcon as a "backup" for Soyuz.

But I agree, as China now being a major global player, it would make sense to have them participate in the International Space Station.

 

[ddom2006]

China have proven themselves responsible as an international power. I certainly wouldn't oppose them having participation in the ISS.

 

[anemazoso]

China have proven themselves responsible as an international power.

I don't have a problem with China joining the ISS but I totally disagree with that statement.

Geopolitics:
1. Taiwan.
2. North Korea.
3. Tibet

Economic:
1. Allows conpanies to "externalise" there overhead by mass polution.
2. Currency Manipulation (though finally they are moving to correct that).
3. No copyright respect for other countries.


Though I think they deserve some credit for progress over the last 5-8 years on most of these issues.

---------- Post added at 09:47 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:23 AM ----------

Well, this is odd. Just saw this posted on nasawatch.

Keith's 25 Jun update: According to NASA PAO, NASA issued the following statement this morning: "NASA has confirmed with the director of the Russian Federal Space Agency's human space flight program that Russia has not issued an invitation to China to join the International Space Station program."

 

[george7378]

Don't China have their own space station program?

 

[Bloodworth]

"...human spaceflight program mature enough to maintain crew transportation in the program."

WTF? Since when does china have a MATURE manned spaceflight program. Their first manned spaceflight was what, a decade ago? Russia and the U.S. have programs that are 5 times that age.

 

[Mantis]

Don't China have their own space station program?

They have plans but they are nowhere near being able to acheive them. They have only two or three manned launches and the last was several years ago.

 

[AirSimming]

I don't have a problem with China joining the ISS but I totally disagree with that statement.

Geopolitics:
1. Taiwan.
2. North Korea.
3. Tibet

Economic:
1. Allows conpanies to "externalise" there overhead by mass polution.
2. Currency Manipulation (though finally they are moving to correct that).
3. No copyright respect for other countries.

Well, China is a sovereign country. How they especially handle their conflicts with Tibet etc. is not our business at all, just like Afghanistan also is not our business at all although we presume to invade it and try to install a democratic system and fight against a phantom.

I claim that most Europeans and Americans actually know just a little about China, it's history and culture (including myself to be honest). And yet at least 90% of Germans are against China because our free and objective media indirectly tells us to be against China (oh look, again they have imprisoned an innocent person X, etc...). That sort of propaganda (yes it partly is) never worked in my case. The world is not that easy. And Europe and the USA is not the measure of all things and not the most perfect role models.

 

[T.Neo]

According to NASA PAO, NASA issued the following statement this morning: "NASA has confirmed with the director of the Russian Federal Space Agency's human space flight program that Russia has not issued an invitation to China to join the International Space Station program."

Odd indeed. :huh:

They have plans but they are nowhere near being able to acheive them. They have only two or three manned launches and the last was several years ago.

They have had three manned launches, the last in September 2008. I don't see why they are "nowhere near" achieving their space station program (which seems to consist of two Shenzou spacecraft docked to an 8.5 ton "laboratory module") provided they don't take years to launch the spacecraft.

Tibet etc. is not our business at all

It is, if there are injustices occurring there.

All in all I think it would be advantageous for China to have involvement in the ISS, considering that Shenzou apparently already has a docking system compatible with APAS...

 

[Mantis]

They have had three manned launches, the last in September 2008. I don't see why they are "nowhere near" achieving their space station program (which seems to consist of two Shenzou spacecraft docked to an 8.5 ton "laboratory module") provided they don't take years to launch the spacecraft.

That's the ticket right there. They seem to be averaging about 2 - 3 years between launches. They seem to be following the 1970s Soviet Soviet test plan for Soyuz albeit at a vastly slower pace.

 

[AirSimming]

It is, if there are injustices occurring there.

We can mention that there are injustices occurring. But to dictate China how to deal with their conflicts is not our business at all. Just like many other things also is not our business. If especially Europe and the USA won't learn this, which they still don't if we just look at the Middle East, we might be in serious trouble in future. And that would be even understandable, i.e. a logical consequence. But the EU anyway might manage to be in trouble on its own land already, if it just grows, grows and grows...

 

[orb]

NASA: China not invited to join space station program

NASA says the International Space Station partner countries have not invited China to join the orbiting lab complex, dismissing a Russian news story proclaiming the Russian space agency contacted the rising space power about signing on to the project.

 

[Ghostrider]

Just like many other things also is not our business.

If they affect us, it is our business. The Middle East certainly is "our business".

 

[Urwumpe]

If they affect us, it is our business. The Middle East certainly is "our business".

Its bloody damn our business. Those Israelis and Hamas try to have a war there and they don't even invite us Germans. Isn't that stupid. Everybody knows without us, you just have a small unimportant regional conflict, without any glory.

 

[SiberianTiger]

I Well, this is odd. Just saw this posted on nasawatch.

"NASA has confirmed with the director of the Russian Federal Space Agency's human space flight program that Russia has not issued an invitation to China to join the International Space Station program."

Hmm, I believe we have another occurrance of Perminov's verbal diarrhea here.

 

[ddom2006]

I don't have a problem with China joining the ISS but I totally disagree with that statement.

Geopolitics:
1. Taiwan.
2. North Korea.
3. Tibet

Economic:
1. Allows conpanies to "externalise" there overhead by mass polution.
2. Currency Manipulation (though finally they are moving to correct that).
3. No copyright respect for other countries.


Though I think they deserve some credit for progress over the last 5-8 years on most of these issues.

Well... Have been working to become more responsible. I agree they have a way to go yet.

 

[Tycho]

In reality, I think China would more than likely agree to join ISS, that is if they were invited in the first place. It would give their space program a boost, considering its potential to be a world space power.

 

[Andy44]

Concerning China being "responsible" and the ISS, let's not forget that one of the biggest threats to the crews of the ISS is the debris created due to China's ASAT launch in 2007 which destroyed the target at a fairly high altitude and created a large donut of debris which will decay through the ISS's orbital altitude.

I guess if I was a Chinese cosmonaut maybe spending a few months on the ISS waiting for my own missile debris to tear through the hull at 10 km/s while I'm sleeping in the dark wouldn't seem like such a good idea.

 

[SiberianTiger]

Concerning China being "responsible" and the ISS, let's not forget that one of the biggest threats to the crews of the ISS is the debris created due to China's ASAT launch in 2007 which destroyed the target at a fairly high altitude and created a large donut of debris which will decay through the ISS's orbital altitude.

So perhaps Russia is at blame no less. Among more or less fresh events, there was two accidental tank blowings up on satellites, one preset life-end self destruction and one completely unexpectable collision of a dead satellite with an Iridium, which helps us to keep the 1st place in space debris littering.

These American counterweights used to slow down rotation of Delta II upper stages and then jettisoned, aren't much fun to deal with too.

Rather oppositely, I believe the more eyes would peek debris threat, the better. A Mir, big and operated by only one country, might be unsafe these days due to increased number of debris in orbit. If China could add their space tracking service's efforts to what NORAD and Russian SKKP do for the ISS, that would only be nice. They have a good tracking coverage across the Pacific, I think.

 

[Dambuster]

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1006/29policy/

Sounds interesting, doesn't specifically mention China and ISS though, but it could be a step towards including them IMO.