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With budget cuts and an aging station, can NASA learn to love a gap in orbit? (arstechnica.com)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/nasa

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

It's just kind of depressing, the state of Western space programs. While it's cool that SpaceX and reusable rockets have made space travel a lot less costly in a shorter time than the government has been able to, it still feels like we are majorly lagging behind China despite being a multinational community across the Western world.

China has their own space station. Nobody ever talks about it, but they built it, launched it, and assembled it themselves. They launch more rockets and manned missions than we do, and they have more concrete plans for Lunar colonization than we do.

I really wish we'd take it seriously and start another space race. I wish For All Mankind's timeline was real.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

No way, taxpayers funding space exploration? Sounds like commie socialism. Better give the rich another tax cut. Actually, maybe we should fund THEIR space programs, what are tax dollars for if not for funding rich people's fantasies and playthings?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

China has definitely stepped up their game in the past decade, and Tiangong is impressive, but I don't think western space programs are lagging behind China... yet.

They launch more rockets and manned missions than we do

So far this year, there have been almost twice as many US launches (102) as there have been from China (53), with likely more mass to orbit.

China has been pretty steady with 2 Shenzhou missions per year, which SpaceX is matching with its commercial crew contract with NASA. Even if you discount Soyuz missions (is Russia west or east?), there has also been a private mission on Dragon in 2021, 2022, 2023, with three more scheduled for 2024. Starliner will be (hopefully) be flying soon, and we could see crewed Dream Chaser and Starship missions in the next few years.

Do you think China will continue to increase their rate of progress, outpacing the west? I'm not sure, but am interested to see what happens.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

China just has a higher potential for this sort of thing because of the single party system. NASA and space travel is so politicized in the West that it feels more ineffective in comparison. At the very least if China sets a goal, regardless of how long a timeframe it ultimately will take, they never have to worry about their plans being demolished by the next guy coming in to lead, because there is no next guy.

If Biden upped NASA spending, you know for a fact that whoever comes next from the opposing party is going to, just on principle alone, attempt to undo and dismantle every plan set up by the previous government. If we keep having internal power struggles like this with plans being negated every four years since nobody wants to agree, it's clear China will beat us to major milestones.

Good to know we're not being outpaced on launches though. Glad to be wrong on that one.