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posted by martyb on Sunday April 23 2017, @04:51PM   Printer-friendly
from the in-space-nobody-hears-your-tantrum?? dept.

The Guardian reports on the Tianzhou-1's, China's first automated cargo spacecraft, first mission to the station:

China's first cargo spacecraft docked successfully with the Tiangong-2 space lab on Saturday, the official Xinhua news agency reported, marking a major step towards Beijing's goal of establishing a permanently manned space station by 2022. ...

The Tianzhou-1 cargo resupply spacecraft made the automated docking process with the orbiting space lab after it had taken off on Thursday evening from the Wenchang satellite launch centre in the southern island province of Hainan....

The cargo spacecraft mission provides an "important technological basis" to build a Chinese space station, state media have said. It can reportedly carry six tonnes of goods, two tonnes of fuel and can fly unmanned for three months.

Seems like Cold War era again:

President Xi Jinping has prioritised advancing China's space programme to strengthen national security.,,,

The US Defense Department has highlighted China's increasing space capabilities, saying it was pursuing activities aimed at preventing other nations from using space-based assets in a crisis.

China insists it has only peaceful ambitions in space, but has tested anti-satellite missiles.

2007 - Chinese anti-satellite missile test
1985 - American anti-satellite missile test
Chinese exclusion policy of NASA

Related: China Launched its Second "Heavenly Palace" Thursday Morning [Updated]
China's Shenzhou 11 Docks at Tiangong 2 Space Station
Space Race 2.0: China May Already be Testing an EmDrive in Orbit


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 23 2017, @08:17PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday April 23 2017, @08:17PM (#498494)

    Add the U.S. to that list, and you've got mine! :)

    The US is on my list, along with North Korea, and that is pretty much it actually. The others would be nice to visit based on meeting safety and other requirements, but those two are on my "do not visit list". I would love to visit Russia and China, but I don't know the languages, so can't really do a proper tour. Imagine a road trip through Russia though, it would be a once in a lifetime experience, just due to the size alone, let alone everything else! Then you could drop into China as well, and make your way to India too. Mental!

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