China Launches Satellite, Plans 10 More by End-2004

Yahoo! News, Reuters ^ | Fri Nov 14, 9:12 PM ET | Reuters

[Aracelis]

BEIJING (Reuters) - China put a communications satellite into orbit on Saturday, the first of nearly a dozen orbiters the country plans to launch by the end of next year, state media said on Saturday.

The Zhongxing 20, the fourth launch since China's first manned space flight last month, blasted off atop a Long March 3A rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the Xinhua news agency said.

The fast pace of launches was due in part to an improved testing procedure that had more than halved the time needed between launches at a given center to less than 30 days, the China Daily quoted Zhang Qingwei, deputy chief commander of the manned space program, as saying.

"The active space program reflects our experience and expertise, especially our confidence in the quality and reliability of Chinese launch vehicles and spacecraft," Zhang was quoted as saying.

The next satellite, a "geospace exploration" device, would go up in December, he added.

China would launch an average of 10 satellites a year from 2006 to 2010, double the pace of the planned 2001 to 2006 launch schedule, Zhang said.

"To serve national economic growth, defense and scientific research purposes, the country will send up to nine satellites into space next year alone," he added.

Zhang also confirmed earlier reports that a second manned mission would take place in 2005, and said the number of astronauts for that flight would be decided after analyzing data from the debut flight.

Last month, China became the third nation after the United States and the former Soviet Union, now Russia, to put a person into space. A single astronaut in the Shenzhou V craft orbited the Earth 14 times in a mission lasting just under one day.

[Aracelis]

Ping!

[RLK]

I'm getting the impression China is about to equal and pass us in all fields except those of indolence, laziness, stupidity, and incompetence.

[Aracelis]

I sadly agree. We as a nation need to get off our collective derrieres and get us moving again!

[SubMareener]

Their Democrat Campaign Contributions at work! More Xlintoon Legacy!

[putupon]

[Savage Beast]

"Last month, China became the third nation after the United States and the former Soviet Union, now Russia, to put a person into space. A single astronaut in the Shenzhou V craft orbited the Earth 14 times..."

Would somebody please send these people a copy of Emily Post?

If they had any manners at all they would name the thing after Bill Clinton. Not to mention gratitude.

What would their mothers say !?!!

[Savage Beast]

But the Chinese have an enormous advantage in the U.S. Fifth Column. Half the electorate is Honorary Red Chinese.

[warchild9]

Ten years from now, after many long years of Republican maladministration, and China's expanded and we've deteriorated to insignificance, are you people still going to be raising the Clinton flag as an excuse? That scumbag was sooooo years ago, and the current administration is helping their little Red friends along quite nicely.

[Savage Beast]

Are the Republicans sharing strategic military secrets with the Chinese?

[toddst]

That scumbag (Clinton) was sooooo years ago, and the current administration is helping their little Red friends along quite nicely.

And the basis of your comments are . . . ?

[warchild9]

WTO, the CAribbean Basin Initiative (initiated by Bush Sr.), allowing Chinese military bases at the Panama Canal and Bermuda, paying the Reds for their courtesy in holding our airmen and secret intel aircraft hostage, open promises to kiss off Taiwan if the Communists decide to invade, NAFTA (which contains loss-escape clauses for Chinese firms in Latin America, which guarantee them LOANS of our tax money if they invest South of our border--this was initiated by Clinton, and signed into law by W last year)...and I can go on. Do your homework. The whores in Washington haven't our best interests at stake, regardless of which letter comes after their name.
And Clinton is YEARS ago. Eventually, you'll have to stop blaming him for everything.

[warchild9]

We are sending advanced military hardware to Israel and Pakistan, who immediately pass it along to the Chinese. This has been going on for quite a long time. I'll give W credit for pressuring the Israelis not to send the Reds advanced AWACS software and hardware last year: instead, the Israelis sold them domestically-produced missle guidance and tracking technology, which was originally developed in France.
W said nothing about that.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[WoofDog123]

"allowing Chinese military bases at the Panama Canal "

Could you identify the military bases held by china in Panama?

This is one of those urban myths that gets passed around and eventually accepted as fact. It is completely inaccurate.

The Balboa/Cristobal ports purchase by Hutchinson/Whampoa is being depicted as a secret military deal by people who have no idea what balboa/cristobal ports consist of, how impossible it would be for ANYTHING resembling chinese military presence to be present there and not immediately become public.

FACTS:
1. The panama canal can not be defended at this point in military technology if an opponent is willing to render it unusable. The Panamanian canal workers would not work under orders from an occupying military force, with the possible exception of the United States. If it reaches the point where that happens, it is quite likely the US Military will be very welcome, at least for a while.

2. 99% of non-chinese panamanians do not highly regard the chinese community in Panama, nor the rampant illegal immigration seen in the last decade or so, the formation of a chinese sub-economy, etc. They are NOT going to ever support China in ANYTHING.

[warchild9]

One of my PhD advisors was in the initial DoD team which identified Red Chinese military installations in and about the Panama Canal Zone. This was during the Clinton administration.
He can't talk about a lot of what he saw, since it involved some sort of satellite whatchamacallit technology, but he will say NO ONE in Washington seems to care that the Monroe Doctrine is out the window in favor of Wal Mart profits. He's appalled. I just shake my head, and will duck in 15 years or so when the Reds urinate on all the bots and make their move on Asia.
Face it, W is just another one.

[warchild9]

By the way, there's a big difference between getting one's information from Fox News and backk-slapping internet forums, and studying under the people who actually did the recon. It's called real life.

[expat_panama]

"allowing Chinese military bases at the Panama Canal "

Thanks for the ping woofdog123. 

Warchild9 does have a couple points in regards to China's militarily threat to the canal.  The ports are controlled by Hutchinson/Whampoa and the Communists control Hutchinson/Whampoa.  Controlling the ports for a canal is like controlling the parking lot at a mall- it has to be dealt with. 

The canal can be defended militarily and it was 13 years ago when our guys killed Noriega's Cubans and Nicaraguans.  

It's true that most Panamanians look down on Orientals.  Panama celebrates Oct. 12 as the day of the superior Latin race, and they consider the Chinese an inferior race   But business is business and Panama pocketed the bribes the Chinese slipped them to cheat the US contractor out of it's bid, and now Panamanian workers are taking orders from their Chinese bosses in the ports.

But you really got to hand it to Panama, they know how to handle China.  When ever the US does something nice for Taiwan, the communists shoot down a US plane or something and we apologize.  What Panama does is it accepts a big pile of money from the Communists, and then the Taiwanese lob a bigger pile of money, and then the reds retaliate in kind.  Why can't we do that?

China is setting up 'military assets' all over the world besides Panama- Bermuda, Samoa, the Philippines, to name a few.  They think they're going to rule the waves just like the UK.   And what's happening is that the reds are going broke just like the UK. 

"allowing Chinese military bases at the Panama Canal "

Thanks for the ping woofdog123. 

Warchild9 does have a couple points in regards to China's militarily threat to the canal.  The ports are controlled by Hutchinson/Whampoa and the Communists control Hutchinson/Whampoa.  Controlling the ports for a canal is like controlling the parking lot at a mall- it has to be dealt with. 

The canal can be defended militarily and it was 13 years ago when our guys killed Noriega's Cubans and Nicaraguans.  

It's true that most Panamanians look down on Orientals.  Panama celebrates Oct. 12 as the day of the superior Latin race, and they consider the Chinese an inferior race   But business is business and Panama pocketed the bribes the Chinese slipped them to cheat the US contractor out of it's bid, and now Panamanian workers are taking orders from their Chinese bosses in the ports.

But you really got to hand it to Panama, they know how to handle China.  When ever the US does something nice for Taiwan, the communists shoot down a US plane or something and we apologize.  What Panama does is it accepts a big pile of money from the Communists, and then the Taiwanese lob a bigger pile of money, and then the reds retaliate in kind.  Why can't we do that?

China is setting up 'military assets' all over the world besides Panama- Bermuda, Samoa, the Philippines, to name a few.  They think they're going to rule the waves just like the UK.   And what's happening is that the reds are going broke just like the UK. 

So I personally like your bottom line woofdog123 - that China is not worth loosing sleep over.

[expat_panama]

dang

[warchild9]

That "Samoa" comment threw me. What are they doing there?

And China is nothing to worry about militarily--not for another generation.
Today, they are acting like any nation in ascendancy: concentrating on building economic power (mostly by undermining their predicted opponent--us).

An historical rule from a soon-to-be history PhD (me):
Countries on the way up build their economies; countries on the way down concentrate on building military empires.
This pattern has been going on for a long, long time.