Space Programme

China boldly goes where none have gone before – the dark side of the Moon

Jan 11, 2019 (WiC 436)

It was a stunning step for the Chinese when they became the first nation to land a spacecraft on the far side of the Moon on January 3. But was it the same giant leap for mankind that astronaut Neil Armstrong first proclaimed 50 years ago (this ...

Dockless bikes to help drive China’s satellite navigation system’s ascent

Jan 12, 2018 (WiC 393)

Cinema’s most famous encounter between the skies and a bike took place 36 years ago in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster movie E.T. In a famed scene the 10 year-old protagonist Elliott and his alien friend fly through the night sky ...

Xinwei hopes for satellite boost

Jan 6, 2017 (WiC 350)

China’s leaders had been hoping that exports of its bullet trains would win foreign allies both geopolitically and economically. But its ‘railway relations’ have suffered setbacks in a series of countries (WiC329), including notably ...

Chinese company wants to muscle in on space tourism

Nov 18, 2016 (WiC 346)

One of the major themes in international travel over the past decade has been the growing number of Chinese tourists travelling abroad – and spending large sums in cities as far apart as Sydney, Seoul and San Franscisco. Since June’s Brexit ...

What is the significance of China’s latest manned space mission?

Oct 21, 2016 (WiC 343)

China is making no secret of the fact that it wants to be a space superpower. It has even set a date for achieving that goal:2030. By then it hopes to have put a man on the moon, driven a rover across Mars, and be the proud owner of a ...

China launches the first hack-proof quantum satellite

Aug 26, 2016 (WiC 337)

Although he is often identified with codifying China’s traditional value system, Confucius was not the only influential Chinese philosopher. Another that spoke against the popular notions we know as ‘Confucianism’ was Micius, who promoted a ...

Man behind Nicaragua canal heads for space

Nov 21, 2014 (WiC 261)

As career paths go, you might wonder how a graduate in Chinese traditional medicine got into the business of launching satellites. Indeed, what do prescribing rhubarb root and cinnabar have to do with building a deepwater port in Crimea or ...

Washington gets jittery about Beijing’s goals for satellite industry

May 17, 2013 (WiC 193)

Chinese scientist Jiang Bo was on a Beijing-bound plane when he was stopped by FBI agents on March 16. Suspected of sneaking state secrets out of the United States, the former NASA employee was detained for six weeks for interrogation. The spy ...

Elon Musk attracts admirers on China’s web

Jun 1, 2012 (WiC 152)

"Dragon Capsule completes Historic Dock with International Space Station.” One can’t help thinking that headline is the work of a futurist predicting China’s forthcoming domination of space. A Dragon Capsule does sound ...

Should US worry about Sino space station?

Oct 7, 2011 (WiC 125)

When Tiangong-1, China’s first space laboratory, blasted successfully into the skies on the evening of September 29, Chinese state TV serenaded the achievement with a stirring instrumental rendition of America the Beautiful, the ...