<p>Can China, with only a fraction of the gross national product of the United States, actually beat America in manned space exploration over the next decade and more? The answer is yes, easily and for many reasons.</p>
<p>China's space program shows every sign of using reliable, mature and inexpensive technology rather than bankrupting itself on showy but dangerous and vastly overambitious technology, such as the U.S. manned space program has relied upon for more than two decades with the space-shuttle program.</p>