It was 50 years today that the Russians revolutionized technology as we know it today. Global communication is something we take for granted today, but without the Sputnik satellite, we (meaning America and China) may not have fully appreciated the importance of space exploration.
Sputnik, meaning "companion" in Russian, had the appearance of a spider or something from "War of the Worlds." But even with its lack of fashionable features, it was capable of broadcasting a 20MHz "beep-beep" signal back to Earth to be received by those equipped with a ham radio. And everything else is history. So 50 years after this event, why should we care?
Simply because we are currently entering yet another space race, but this time it's China against the world.
The story continues thus: the Russians send yet another Sputnik (II) into space, this time containing a dog, and finally after some more consideration, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth; while to everyone's embarrassment, the US built a rocket that exploded on the launch pad.
The Americans, believing they should win something from the space race, won the "first landing on the moon" medal. A lot of rhetoric came from both sides, but the Americans claim they won out. The Russians don't bother to argue.
Then around 4 years ago, there was a new development in this long forgotten race: China's Yang Liwei sent his regards from space.
Suddenly, everyone is interested in beating China to the moon. Although the US is retiring its not-so-safe space shuttle in 2010, President Bush pulled a "Kennedy" some time not long ago, stating that 2015 is the deadline for not only landing on the moon (and beyond), but also establishing an outpost there. In other words, raising the stakes for China.
Although the Russians have been a key player in the past, they've decided to team up with the incumbent this time around. In a turn of events, Japan decided to join the Asian team, but a pan-Asian partnership between Japan and China would be wrong on so many levels, starting with the political one.
The Chinese plan on landing a man on the moon by 2020. Seems like a moot goal, one that would trail the US by 5 years. Why achieve it and how will China get there?
Firstly, China's dream of getting on the moon is, after all, just a dream, whereas visiting the moon is something that America has already achieved. China is definitely taking advantage of the huge motivation to promote and speed up its space program.
Secondly, as a rising superpower, China has the resources dedicated for accomplishing such feats. At 11% economic growth per year, China is channeling technology from abroad and recruiting up-and-coming talent from all areas. It's harder for mature and established economies such as the US and Japan to compete effectively, solely because most of their new space development rely on R&D from the private sector, and large amounts of resources are exported into emerging markets.
Will China win, at least spiritually?
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