Guochanhua Masters
by Andy Turudic
Within the last few days, the People's Republic of China (PRC) sent its first man into space. This was the 5th flight of the Shenzhou capsule-based orbital system, which utilizes a crew capsule not unlike that of the former Soviet Union.
Apparently the Chinese purchased a Soyuz capsule in the 1990s for reverse engineering purposes, though the Shenzhou capsule bears more of a remote resemblance rather than being a cheap and faithful counterfeit. As with American electronic systems, be they DSC/Alcatel's telecom switches or Motorola's cell phones, the Chinese have, on numerous occasions, demonstrated their ability to reverse engineer, understand, and improve a system of commercial or military interest, as is now illustrated by the Shenzhou's technology capability. Hopefully, the materials properties of the metals used in the Shenzhou program are better controlled than those of their lag bolts, which had recently broken off during my labor intensive, hand-bent and glued, ready to mount, circular stair handrail project.
The Chinese-manned space effort represents a culmination of knowledge and advanced materials development over a fairly short time period, including some acceleration in the program apparently due to inadvertent US assistance, potentially contributing to China's missile capabilities. The story goes that the USA knew how to drive a Finite Element Analysis package better than the Chinese did, possibly because the USA may have a fundamentally less serious approach to materials applications than the Chinese.
Space does drive the very limits of technology and materials, nonetheless. Were it not for the US space program, we wouldn't have highly-efficient solar cells, those, literally, cool space shuttle tiles, or a dead guy named Ira having been sent to Mars. Without 0.5 m-resolution commercial color satellite imaging, we wouldn't be able to catch violators driving golf carts in the middle of fairways or sneaky neighbors violating restrictive covenants with trampolines in their fenced back yards.
While cloaked in the traditional cold war propaganda of using science as an excuse for a space program, as canisters of film are ejected back to earth, the real purpose of the Shenzhou flights appears to be military and reconnaissance. One must wonder why the Chinese orbital vehicle remains in orbit for extended periods after the Shenzhou-manned capsule has returned to earth and what is lacking for "scientific study" in the capabilities of commercially-available Synthetic Aperture Radar and Imaging systems, both on orbit and planned in the near term. Just what is the Chinese orbital module doing up there for eight more months? What type of equipment needs a human to set up after establishing orbit, and then be abandoned for extended periods? Why is China planning a space station when there is already an INTERNATIONAL space station available? Will they use kudzu, carried by the third Shenzhou mission, as a WMD?
Materials and technology capabilities that brag of manned flight levels of reliability place the PRC in a fairly exclusive club, now comprised of the Americans and Russians, that has placed a man in space and that has reliable intercontinental weapons delivery systems. Countries like North Korea become third class citizens in light of such capabilities being demonstrated. The inadvertent technology transfer by the USA to China has all but eliminated the failure of the rocket fairing on the Smart Dispenser equipped Long March rocket and has allowed the Chinese an understanding of wind loads on launch vehicles to a point where recent failures are almost nonexistent, and successful re-entry of atomic warheads is assured.
More importantly, as the US transfers much-needed hard currency, technological prowess, knowledge and white collar jobs to Asia in the name of excess corporate profit, including 90-nm and 60-nm CMOS fabrication capabilities on 12 inch silicon wafers, the USA's leading corporations will become a veritable Golgafrincham B-Ark of accountants, salespeople, fat-cat fabless R&D-less executives, and telephone sanitisers (sic). These formerly innovative, and economic powerhouse, companies will become highly, if not completely, dependent on innovation and manufacturing technologies in the Far East, all the while as the Chinese government siphons military capability from its technologically-advanced, commercially-subsidized, industries. There will come a time within the next few decades when a tug-of-war, in the name of economic dominance, will be waged at the levels of corporate and political powers; a time at which the USA may be left denuded of technology, strategic advantage, economic capability, and military superiority and when Asia can exercise its will over the world in military and commercial terms.
So, we hope that when you heard of Lt Col Yang Liwei being launched into space, you looked up to the sky, waved, and wished him well on his pioneering circular journey to nowhere, as the US-manned space launch capabilities, the result of having a non-engineering leader embracing continuous cow milking or cost cutting versus continuing improvement, are grounded for almost a year. When our intrepid taikonaut came back to earth safely, we hope you cheered and marveled at his bravery and admitted your jealousy in not having been as physically fit, or as accomplished and recognized in your engineering or science achievements, so as to be selected for such an adventure. For the next several months, look up once in a while and smile; chances are a camera is taking your picture as party bureaucrats on the other side of the planet scratch their heads wondering if they'll ever find a carrier frequency in America where there's something worth watching.
With a bit of luck, maybe the Chinese, during daytime, will get glued
to their ELINT radio sets listening to the best US programming has to offer
with the likes of Oprah, Geraldo, and Maury. At that point, the Chinese
leadership will form a contrary opinion of the cross section of American
society to that reported from its resident ex patriots. The Chinese will
then relax and sit back in eventual apathy, getting nothing done as they
while away the time waiting for the next episode of Springer which promises
lively debate on why American teen daughters wear miniskirts in Minnesota
in January. Then it'll be someone else, like India, taking an aggressive
turn to step up to conquer the complacent.
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