Asian space race

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Yáng Lìwěi is the first man sent into space by the Chinese space program
Yáng Lìwěi is the first man sent into space by the Chinese space program

The Asian space race is a race among several Asian countries to achieve scientific and technological advancements in space.

A number of Asian nations have become serious contenders in the race to control space in recent years.[1] In January 2007, China sent an anti-satellite missile into orbit to destroy an aging Chinese Feng Yun 1C polar orbit weather satellite[2]. A month later, Japan's space agency (JAXA) has launched an experimental communications satellite designed to enable super high-speed data transmission in remote areas.[3] India is hoping to launch its Chandrayaan-1 Moon mission in 2008.[4] South Korea has also expressed its plans to enter the space race in 2008 with its completion of Naro Space Center, and the country’s first astronaut Yi So-yeon spent 11 days aboard the International Space Station in April 2008.[5] As of 2008, China is the leader in Asia's space race.[6] Its space program has been in the spotlight since 2003, when China became the third country in the world to launch a manned spacecraft, after the former Soviet Union and the United States.[7] The issue of a space race's existence in Asia is still debated, China denies that there is an Asian Space Race.[8] Apart from national pride, there are also commercial motivations. According to a report by the Space Frontier Foundation released in 2006, the "space economy" is estimated to be worth about $180 billion, with more than 60 percent of space-related economic activity coming from commercial goods and services.[9] Outer space is also of strategic concern to a growing number of countries worldwide. Earth's orbit is becoming the main battle ground to ensure national security.[10] While the achievements of space programs run by China, Japan and India are modest in comparison to the milestones set by the United States and the former Soviet Union, experts believe it may only be a matter of time before Asia leads the field.[11]

Contents

[edit] Motivations

Image:Japanese Spaseplane.jpg
HOPE-X Japanese Spaseplane program

China's first manned spacecraft entered orbit in October 2003, making it the first Asian nation to send a human into space.[12] This event marked the beginning of a space race in the region. The motivations behind a new space race include national pride, national security and even commercial gain. Japan continues developing its manned spacecraft (HOPE-X) from the 80s.[13]

Some analysts suggest that the Chinese manned space flight is closely linked to the nation's attempts to develop advanced military technology.[14] As well as national pride there are commercial drivers such as launching of satellites for communications, weather forecast and research of Earth's atmosphere. There are also some concerns among the Asian nations about the militarisation of space. China shocked the world in 2007 when it used a newly developed anti-satellite missile to destroy a defunct weather satellite, the Feng Yun 1-C, orbiting 528 miles (850 km) above Earth. The resulting explosion sent a wave of debris hurtling through space at more than 6 miles per second.[15] On 21 February 2008 the US Navy destroyed a disabled spy satellite USA 193. The US denied the destruction of the satellite was a response to an anti-satellite test carried out by China in 2007.[16]

Japan has been cooperating with the United States on missile defence since 1999. North Korean nuclear and Chinese military programs represent a serious issue for Japan's Foreign relations.[17] Japan is now working on military and civilian space technologies, developing missile defence systems, new generations of military spy satellites, and planning for manned stations on the moon.[18] Japan started to construct spy satellites after North Korea test fired a Taepodong missile over Japan in 1998, although the North Korean government claimed the missile was merely launching a satellite to space[19] accusing Japan of causing an arms race. The Japanese constitution adopted after World War II limits military activities to defensive operations. On May 2007 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for a bold review of the Japanese Constitution to allow the country to take a larger role in global security and foster a revival of national pride.[20]

India's interest in space travel began modestly in the early 1960s, when scientists launched a small rocket above the jungles of Kerala.[21] While India's space program is relatively small, it has made considerable developments in recent years, putting a number of satellites into orbit.[22] Just a few days after China said that it would send a human into orbit in the second half of 2003, former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee publicly urged his country's scientists to work towards sending a man to the Moon.[23] Chandrayaan-I, is India's first unmanned lunar mission and is expected to be launched in 2008.[24] The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is its planning 2nd moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, in 2011.[25]

South Korea is a relatively new player in the Asian race for space.[26] In August 2006 South Korea launched its first military communications satellite, the Mugunghwa-5 satellite. The satellite was placed in geosynchronous orbit and is able to collect surveillance information on North Korea.[27] The South Korean government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars in space technology and is due to launch its first missile in 2008.[28] South Korea's space program is justified by its government in terms of long-term commercial benefits and national pride. Seoul has long seen North Korea's significantly longer missile range as a serious threat to its national security. With the nation's first astronaut launched into Space, Lee So-yeon, South Korea gained confidence of entering Asian space rase. Currently, the country is completing the construction of Naro Space Center. Once operational, South Korea will be able to build satellites and missiles with local technology.[29] South Korea is pursuing a space program that could defend the peninsula while lessening Seoul's dependency on the United States.

KSLV-1 to be launched in 2008.
KSLV-1 to be launched in 2008.

The two rising Asian powers, China and India, will back the EU's space race to challenge American supremacy in space. China will invest £140 million in the European Union's Galileo global satellite system and India will invest £210 million in the scheme.[30]

[edit] The Moon race

[edit] Probing the moon

The Moon is thought to be rich in Helium-3, which could one day be used in nuclear fusion power plants to fuel future energy demands in Asia.

Japan is the first Asian country to launch a lunar probe. The Hiten (Japanese: "flying angel") spacecraft (known before the launch as Muses-A), built by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan, was launched on January 24, 1990. The mission did not go as it was planned in many aspects. Kaguya, is the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft and was launched on September 14, 2007. The mission is still ongoing.

China launched its first lunar probe named Chang'e-1 on October 24, 2007 and successfully entered lunar orbit on November 5, 2007.

[edit] Number of launched satellites

Few countries have successfully launched a satellite independently. The countries which have accomplished this include (in chronological order, as of February 2007), the Soviet Union, United States, France, Japan, China, United Kingdom, India and Israel. Kazakhstan has rocket and satellite development technology and hosts the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch facility which is used by other countries, particularly Russia. Brazil made three attempts at satellite launching in 1997, 1999 and 2003 but none of these were successful. North Korea has claimed to have launched a satellite, however that rocket fell into the North Pacific.

Rnk date nation satellite launch vehicle kg Remarks
1 1957(10.4) Soviet Union Sputnik 1 R-7 84 kg
2 1958(1.31) U.S.A. Explorer 1 Jupiter C 13.7 kg
3 1965(11.26) France Aesterix 1 Deer man
4 1970(2.11) Japan おおすみ/Osumi L-4S 5 23.8 kg
5 1970(4.24) China 東方紅 長征1型 173 kg
6 1971(10.28) U.K. Prospero Black arrow in Australia
7 1979(12.24) ESA CAT Alian 1type(L01)
8 1980(7.18) India Rohini1 SLV
9 1988(9.19) Israel Ofeq 1 Shabit launching westward

The total number of satellites launched in the World is 5,736 as of the end of 2006. About 88% of these were launched in either the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) or the US.[31]

  • Top 10 States by number of satellites launched (as of December of 2006). Joint possession is not included.
Rnk nation Number(2005)
1 CIS 3228(3212)
2 US 1815(1781)
3 Japan 119(111)
4 China 99(92)
INTELSAT 70(69)
ESRO/ESA 64(63)
5 France 54(52)
6 India 38
7 Germany 38(37)
8 UK 35
9 Canada 27(26)
10 Italy 20(19)

[edit] Asians on the moon

Almost four decades after Neil Armstrong has become the first man to walk on the Moon, Asia's major powers hurry in their own space ambitions to send the first Asian to the Moon. China, Japan, South Korea, and India all have plans to send a manned spacecraft to the Moon.

[edit] Asian space agencies

  • CNSA - China National Space Administration
  • ISRO - Indian Space Research Organisation
  • JAXA - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
  • KARI - Korea Aerospace Research Institute

[edit] See also

Spaceflight Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Asia Nations Gaining Ground in Space Race.
  2. ^ Concern over China's missile test.
  3. ^ Concern over China's missile test.
  4. ^ Heated Space Race Under Way in Asia.
  5. ^ Korea to enter space race in 2008.
  6. ^ Japan trying to catch China in Asia space race.
  7. ^ China puts its first man in space.
  8. ^ China Denies There's an Asian Space Race.
  9. ^ Shooting for the moon: The new space race.
  10. ^ Shooting for the moon: The new space race.
  11. ^ Asia could win next 'Space Race', US scientists fear.
  12. ^ China puts its first man in space.
  13. ^ Shooting for the moon: The new space race.
  14. ^ China's man in space gets mixed reaction.
  15. ^ Shooting down satellite raises concerns about military space race.
  16. ^ Military satellites 'may get stealthy'.
  17. ^ North Korea nuclear and China military programmes a worry: Japan.
  18. ^ Japan Joins U.S. in Dangerous Space Race.
  19. ^ Japanese Satellites Work in Orbit Above Earth.
  20. ^ Abe calls for a 'bold review' of Japanese Constitution.
  21. ^ The dawn of a new space race?.
  22. ^ India Limbers Up for Space Race As Prime Minister Asks for the Moon.
  23. ^ India 'on course' for the Moon.
  24. ^ India and US to explore the Moon.
  25. ^ What is Chandrayaan-2?.
  26. ^ South Korea joins Asian space race.
  27. ^ Abe calls for a 'bold review' of Japanese Constitution.
  28. ^ South Korea buys into space dream.
  29. ^ Boost for South Korea's space program.
  30. ^ China and India back EU's space race against US.
  31. ^ You must specify title = and url = when using {{cite web}}.. Retrieved on 2008-05-03.