Chinese Astronauts Complete First Spacewalk 310
As_I_Please writes "At 8:40AM (GMT) this morning, Chinese astronaut Zhai Zhigang successfully spent 18 minutes in a tethered spacewalk outside the spacecraft Shenzhou 7. This is an important step in China's goal of building an orbiting space station and sending astronauts to the moon."
Successful Spacewalk at 8:40am! (Score:4, Funny)
Is it for real this time? (Score:2, Interesting)
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Of course the dialog would be the same!
This 20-minute spacewalk must have been practiced hundreds of times on the ground already, do you think that everyone involved would not already know exactly who would say what at exactly when?! Especially if everything went according to plan?
The only glitch in the whole process was some problem opening the door. If the reported dialog does not contain that part, anyone who have ever seen one of their practices could have written a report with dialog before the rocke
Old news (Score:5, Funny)
I read about this last week on an English language Chinese news website.
Right. (Score:2, Troll)
This is an important step in China's goal of building an orbiting space station and sending astronauts to the moon
Yeah, right. You've got a couple more steps before you can move into the Moon Base, speedy.
That's not quite the point... (Score:5, Insightful)
The point is that they are building their space program. You have to consider Asian, and especially East Asian thinking. They aren't like the west with its "profit immediately or forget about it" thinking. When I see China putting men into space (the third country to do so after Soviet Russia and then the USA) and now doing space walks, that means they already have a long term plan to set up semi-permanent if not permanent colonies in orbit or on other celestial bodies.
See, they are not in a space race. They are doing this for their more distant future. When they do something like this, they aren't thinking of the next quarter's profits or even the next year's. They are thinking in terms of the next generation or the generation after.
And, I applaud them for it. It is nice to see homo sapiens thinking long term about getting off this pale blue dot of ours, and not only thinking about it but taking active steps towards such a goal. I couldn't care less what language they are speaking or what country they are from. They are humans and they are making the effort that others seem to have given up on. Power to them.
Long-term planning (Score:5, Insightful)
Riiiiight. Because putting melamine in milk powder and antifreeze in toothpaste isn't about immediate profits, it's a long-term strategy for building a trusted brand.
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Face it, Western farmers didn't know what would happen from feeding sheeps' brains to cows. And Chinese manufacturers didn't know the consequences of spiking milk with melamine -- they thought they were improving the milk. You're just a hypocrite if you think only China makes fatal mistakes.
Re:Long-term planning (Score:5, Insightful)
Of course they knew exactly what they were doing. According to this article in April of 2007 from the New York Times [nytimes.com] it was an open "secret" that melamine could increase the appearance of protein in animal and human food products without adding any nutritional value.
I'm amazed at how many apologists there are for these violations of public health by Chinese businesses and the lack of oversight by the Chinese government, a government that has no accountability to anyone. And because of how much China exports these corrupt business practices affect the health of people outside their borders.
I for one try, as much as possible, to avoid any products that come from China because I have no idea what I'm getting.
China feeds our greed; cf child slaves in W.Africa (Score:5, Insightful)
And because of how much China exports these corrupt business practices affect the health of people outside their borders.
I for one try, as much as possible, to avoid any products that come from China because I have no idea what I'm getting.
You know what. China is serving global demand. Global business demands profit at all and any cost. Consumers don't care who sewed their shirts, that those people despite working hard can't afford healthcare and education.
They say "don't care was made to care". Well the developed nations have sown the seed of their contempt for the humanity of the people of those manufacturing nations by not caring except about price. Now we're beginning to reap what we have sown.
You've all heard of companies using child/slave labour. Clothing manufacturers, computer makers. Much of the worlds chocolate supplies are tainted with slavery #1 ... none of these companies go out of business.
But now our constant drive for the bottom line is affecting the health of our home nations, now will we sit up and say no to globalised exploitation?
---
#1 about 50% of cocoa comes from West Africa (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali) where child slavery (abduction of children to work for no money) was considered widespread in 2001/2002. I have never seen any reports of a solution to this problem. See eg, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1963617.stm [bbc.co.uk] http://www.365act.com/actions/2.html [365act.com] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2001/apr/19/globalisation.benstafford [guardian.co.uk];
Other sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labor_exploitation_in_the_chocolate_industry [wikipedia.org] particularly http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/24/news/international/chocolate_bittersweet.fortune/ [cnn.com] (read that one if nothing else).
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And my point was that unlike western farmers feeding sheep brains to cows, Chinese manufacturers did know at least by early 2007 that melamine was dangerous. I know this is Slashdot and you're only an AC but did you even try to take two minutes to read the article that I posted the link for. If you did you would see it is clear that Chinese manufacturers were absolutely, 100% aware of exactly what they were doing.
Also, if you took the time to read the article you would see there was harm and foul in early
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As much as I'd like to subscribe to that theory I think both this, the Olympics and several others activities they do is mostly about national pride. Whether it was the Cold War, the UN (where Taiwan had China's seat), the G8 (where Russia is a member and China not) and many other places China never seemed to get much attention nor cared much about it. With the turn to market economy though, clearly they've also wanted to show the world their prowess in engineering (olympic stadiums), culture (spectacular s
it is the same business (Score:3, Insightful)
While they can make up whatever high goals -- to boost nationalism, to save the world, or whatever -- the entire execution is contingent on money and profits. China is a highly profit-driven place; a lot more than rich places. Companies have to see profits to do the tasks. And just like the U.S. and everywhere else in the world, China has to face the hurdle of creating job opportunities. Huge projects like these can save thousands jobs in their defunct state-owned factories. They also need to absorbs millio
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Yes and no.
In China, the lack of democracy means that you could plan for a distant future, as opposed to how you could get yourself (or your party) elected next term. In the west it's not "profit immediately or forget it" -- but rather "profit immediately, or otherwise the other party will revert it next term". China's current top-down approach in administration means it could move things with a definite purpose, rather than many individual working on their own interests.
But then, short term thinking is a c
Re:That's not quite the point... (Score:4, Insightful)
What was the point of landing on the moon? Advancement of humanity, or inspiring the nation? "Propaganda benefits", you could say. We just really, really needed to prove that we could beat the Soviets.
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None of the above.
The moon landing sent one message quite clearly:
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Yeah, right. You've got a couple more steps before you can move into the Moon Base, speedy.
Not a problem, it's all CG.
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Last ever Moonwalk: Apollo 17, 1972.
The next Moonwalk will not be American.
Why this anti-chinese winds? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why are all posts so anti-chinese?
I love democracy and I live in a liberal western democratic country (Sweden), but I do not at all understand why all posts have to be so negative.
Lets critisize china when they do something bad. When they do something good like this, lets congratulate them! This is a great step forward, not only for china, but for all of humankind.
I honestly believe that China will be the space super-power during the 21st century and the faster they get there the better for ALL OF US - EVEN AMERICANS!
So lets just cheer and celebrate this success! Congratulate the astronauts and engineers that made this possible. It is impressive and it is a fantastic work no matter if you are a russian, american or chinese.
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Why are all posts so anti-chinese?
You must not have seen this, from Thursday:
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/25/2145209 [slashdot.org]
Jealousy, of course (Score:4, Insightful)
China is sending men into space. We are scrapping our only way of getting into space. Talk about progress...
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Wow, refreshingly sober post amid considerable "my penis is shrinking and I have to strike out at somebody" comments.
I guess some people just cannot stand others doing well, especially when their own economy is in the toilet, crime is getting out of control, and their own society is in almost certain decline.
Re:Why this anti-chinese winds? (Score:4, Insightful)
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It's because many people still harbor some childhood bitterness toward the Chinese for their well-known tendency to urinate in other people's Coca-Cola.
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Because they're an authoritarian government that lies all the time?
that sounds like a certain western country we all know about
Re:Why this anti-chinese winds? (Score:4, Insightful)
Because they're an authoritarian government that lies all the time?
As compared to our pseudo-authoritarian government that lies all the time?
Sure I can speak out against the government and not worry about being hauled off (generally), but the USA actually has a greater ratio of its citizens in prisons than China does in there.
So statically, if you are an US citizen you are more likley to be in prison than you are a Chinese citizen. Maybe we just have more criminals over here, but sometimes it just feels like this anti-Chinese sentiment is pot calling kettle black.
Also the top three nations of users of the death penalty are China, Iran, and the US (in that order). Seems like we have a lot in common.
Sometimes I start to wonder to myself that the only difference between the USA and China is that over there they know they aren't free while over here we're just duped into thinking that we are until we actually break a law.
Yeah, given the choice I'd rather live here than over there, but sometimes I wonder if only that pent up frustration against China could be directed at our own government so that we can actually someday hopefully change the path towards a more democratic state for everyone and not just those are in the majority way of thinking.
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Sometimes I start to wonder to myself that the only difference between the USA and China is that over there they know they aren't free while over here we're just duped into thinking that we are until we actually break a law.
As an outsider (non-American) I don't wonder -- I think that ;-p
Most people in China know what they're missing out (Chinese don't know about the Tienanmen Square incident? You gotta be kidding. It was widely reported until the day of the crackdown). Most Americans think America is the land of the free. Eh.
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Yeah, given the choice I'd rather live here than over there
That's good, because you left out probably the most important comparison: you can make your Slashdot post over here without ANY fear of government reprisal whatsoever, but over there, it'll get you hauled off for "re-education," prison, or worse, to be a participant in the next BodyWorlds exhibit. No country's perfect, but the Chinese have a loooooong way to go.
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Sometimes I start to wonder to myself that the only difference between the USA and China is that over there they know they aren't free while over here we're just duped into thinking that we are until we actually break a law.
Yeah they put you into prison for stuff like killing, robbing or raping people. I was shocked! Shocked I tell you!
You're making the same mistake a lot of people do when talking about freedom. Freedom doesn't mean you get to do whatever the hell you want to with complete disregard for neg
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Why are all posts so anti-chinese?
Because they're an authoritarian government that lies all the time?
Name one non-authoritarian government, or even one that tells the truth.
This is almost old hat for Russian and American astronauts (or cosmonauts or whatever). Any country could work with those two space programs and complete a space walk on their own. I wouldn't be surprised if the ESA has already done this as well and I just haven't heard of it. In other words, the third or fourth country doing this isn't a great step forward for all humankind, it's one more country catching up to where other countries were decades ago.
In addition, China's extra space capacity isn't a good thing. Space so far has been nothing but a wagging match between Russia and the US, it's been relatively free of military conflict. If we want space to become something other than a place to conduct science and take some pictures, then increasing China's space capabilities is a great way to start.
China is letting the West know that the militarization of space is a game that they can play as well. The technology required to put a human in space isn't anything to sneeze at. Considering that China's economy was a failure in the same period that we had the Apollo program, it's one of the many signs that they are ready to become the worlds most powerful economy.
We'd do well to recognize real threats, like resource wars involving the
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Any country could work with those two space programs and complete a space walk on their own.
I take it, then, that you're against competition in other realms as well? I mean, hey, anybody can work with Microsoft or Apple and make hardware or software. Heck, anyone can work with RIAA to make music too.
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In other words, the third or fourth country doing this isn't a great step forward for all humankind, it's one more country catching up to where other countries were decades ago.
But china did it for 100USD and provided you don't lick the paint (or attempt re-entry) you'd never know they skimped on the manufacture and used child labour to fit the electronics.
[incidentally that was a joke, we buy the stuff that china churns out and so tacitly we cast our vote that says they should keep the poor down and exploited]
competition (Score:5, Insightful)
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forcing the US to get off its arse in regard to the final frontier...
A country that sends half it's money to foreigners and transfers the other half from Earners to Dead Weight isn't going anywhere.
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Yes, because The Universe works on the "finders, keepers" principle.
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"Pinned down" is quite a stretch, implying some sudden, overwhelming breakthrough that gives a huge competitive advantage.
Instead, space travel is like any other scientific or engineering endeavor. Progress is linear, and what one group learns can be applied by others soon after. It's a ridiculous stretch to claim that putting a person on Mars first is going to give whatever nation responsible a substan
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it depends on your definition of "soon", just take a look at most nations' space programs... decades behind the US and Russia, even the EU with its combined economic power greater than the US is still far behind in terms of their space technology. Technological advancement does spread from its originating country eventually but the fact is that even
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Why do we take the notion that space exploration and colonization is desirable as granted? Will it make us feel better, or is this some attempt to find new resources to fuel our consumerist frenzy for which the Earth is becoming too small? Would you want to live on another planet in the solar system, where you couldn't go outside without a pressure suit, where you'd have to depend on complicated machines to support every second of your fragile life?
Of course there are other important considerations, includi
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Why do we take the notion that space exploration and colonization is desirable as granted?
because (admittedly in a few billion years from now) one day our sun will die, and if we're not off this planet by then, our species will die with it.
Sponsored by... (Score:5, Funny)
They mean that the space walk is tomorrow! (Score:2, Funny)
Since they like to make announcements of upcoming events as if they already occurred it's likely that they really mean that the the space walk is happening tomorrow.
Nice! (Score:4, Funny)
"Zhai lifted himself through the hatch and waved at the camera attached to the service module on the outside of the craft, with Earth looming overhead."
"He then tried to take off the helmet for a 'nicer portrait shot'."
(After the implosion of his body, another astronaut from the 344 person manned spacecraft was sent to replace him.)
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Misread the name (Score:4, Funny)
Chinese astronaut Zhang Ziyi successfully spent 18 minutes in a tethered spacewalk outside the spacecraft Shenzhou 7.
My first thought, "that's pretty dangerous, in every movie she's been in, her clothes are ripped off suddenly and forcefully."
Old News (Score:2)
This is old, I read about it before it happened.
Yeah, but... (Score:2)
Yeah, but... is it for real?????
Chinese space-wear fashion (Score:2)
In addition to proving China's ability to maneuver in space, the spacewalk showed that China can produce reliable and safe space equipment. During his space venture, Zhai wore a new Chinese-built spacesuit, dubbed Feitian (Chinese for "fly the sky").
The suit, which reportedly cost 30 million yuan (about $4.4 million), did its job protecting Zhai from the harsh temperatures and radiation of space. It has 10 layers of insulation, weighs about 265 pounds (120 kg), and takes up to 15 hours to assemble and put o
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Get your facts straight (Score:5, Insightful)
I am seeing a lot of uninformed, and often racist, sentiment regarding this. Here are the facts.
1. This is not a Russian capsule. The three module shape is dictated by the principles of capsule design in general, not by China simply buying a set of blueprints
2. They are not moving that slowly, they are simply being economical with the number of missions they fly. It took Russia and the US 4 years to get from men in space to spacewalks, it has taken China 5 years.
3. Their spending money on this whilst there are *gasp* still poor people on China is not something that can be criticised from a country bailing out wall street whilst letting the poor rot. At least Chinese people will eventually benefit from space technology. Who will benefit from bankers being insulated from the consequences of their actions? Everywhere has inequality. No reason to crucify China specifically for it.
4. Shenzhou is the most technologically advanced manned spacecraft flying. The Shuttle has more capability but it is nearing the end of its life and when it retires, Americans better get used to play to second fiddle to China for a while.
5. Being racist makes you a dick. Chinese people are just as capable of this as you are.
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Insightful)
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I think it's something about announcing launches, with detailed transcripts of conversations, before they happen. Sending underage athletes to international events, swearing they're of age even after evidence is found that they're not. Sadly, the list goes on and on.
At some point, distrust and skepticism becomes the norm.
Your point is well taken that all governments lie, and necessarily so. Some governments lie a lot about things that don't seem worth lying about.
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Insightful)
i would have agreed with you when i first read that article yesterday, but i couldn't understand why the Chinese government would lie about a launch that they already spent so much time and money preparing for, and were clearly going to carry out.
it wasn't until some other slashdotters remarked that this could have simply been a prepped news story, which is a common practice in mainstream media, and that the transcripts were probably holder text--still a bad idea i think, but at least understandable.
and it should be noted that this time there was live video footage. and it would be a pretty stupid thing to try to fake a space mission. i mean, cheating in the olympics, or any other sports, is something that you can get away with (and i have no doubt that plenty of countries have gotten away with on many occasions), but faking a space mission is more along the lines of lying about achieving cold fusion. there's just simply no way you can deceive people about that for more than a few weeks or months at most. so unless they plan on being ridiculed by the world later, it would be a very stupid thing to do.
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so unless they plan on being ridiculed by the world later, it would be a very stupid thing to do.
Exactly. I am still amazed by the people here who think the Chinese government could be that stupid on a national scale.
Even the Bush administration isn't that crazy.
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Funny)
The Bush administration did fake the Iraq war to scare Americans into voting Democratic. I am so sick of these liberal ploys to take over the white house.
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and it should be noted that this time there was live video footage.
Like the Olympics? Yeah, I'll wait for confirmation from NASA or similar. Surely international organizations were monitoring this pretty closely.
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it wasn't until some other slashdotters remarked that this could have simply been a prepped news story, which is a common practice in mainstream media, and that the transcripts were probably holder text--still a bad idea i think, but at least understandable.
I figured that was what was going on. A real classy thing for the voice of the State to be doing, but not as dumb as the alternatives. But who knows, maybe someone over there with a bit of power is that stupid. You don't need to whole government in on the act.
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Insightful)
i think most people recognize that. it's a pretty ethnocentric attitude to think that only the U.S. can conduct legitimate space research and everything China does must have an ulterior motive behind it. of course, if you see China as the enemy, then you can't concede to the fact that they might be genuinely interested in space exploration or recognize any achievements by the Chinese people.
it's really saying that we can be proud of our own space program, but China can't be proud of theirs. frankly, i think the more countries venture into space, the closer humanity as a whole gets to the possibility of space colonization. so who cares what flag is sewn onto their uniform? the are far worse things to spend time and resources on than space exploration.
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Interesting)
I think it's something about announcing launches, with detailed transcripts of conversations, before they happen.
If I am remembering correctly a news outlet in China published "accidentally," the story with a conversation transcript. While it is possible that that was exactly what was going to be published following the launch/spacewalk it could well have been a "template" for the real story to be published after the launch. China likes to script and practice things with meticulous detail prior to the actual "public" event. They're trying to prove to the world and themselves that they are worthy of attention as a global powerhouse and it starts for them by putting their best foot forward. They don't want mistakes and/or embarassments and this is their way of mitigating it.
These folks have done in 10 years what has taken over 100 in the US in terms of industrialization and economics. Cut them a bit of slack... I'm grateful to the Chinese for their pursuit of space exploration. It provides healthy competition that has been lacking since the fall of the USSR. It may well be what is needed to get the money flowing back into NASA and instead of the likes of Blackwater and DoD more generally. Even if there's a bit of exageration--which may or may not be the case--it isn't as if we weren't doing the same thing to the Russians with our own space program.
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Why is this modded troll?
Seriously, guys.
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These folks have done in 10 years what has taken over 100 in the US in terms of industrialization and economics. Cut them a bit of slack...
Turned from a proud and upright nation into a nation run by capitalists swine that couldn't care less how many people they trample so long as they get more money than everyone else? ... No not that one? Oops, sorry.
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We do that in the U.S. as well. The last few years I've read a story on yahoo news about what the president said (past tense) in the State of the Union Address, the morning of the day it is going to take place. You see speeches leaked regularly, almost always from the Bush administration, less from senate and house politician.
And seriously, why do the taikonauts get cooler spacesuits than the American astronauts?
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Insightful)
"These folks have done in 10 years what has taken over 100 in the US in terms of industrialization and economics."
They bought a capsule design from Russia (and modified it to their needs) and then designed their own EVA suit. I think from 1959-1969 we pulled off a bit more than that.
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:4, Insightful)
But then again they didn't have to invent industrialization first, they could buy industrial stuff from many suppliers. It's a bit like flying from Spain to the US and saying you're better than the discoverers because it was faster.
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Plus the US did it purely from their intelligence and work
Yes, and the best German scientists money could buy. [wikipedia.org]
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Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:4, Funny)
Just try not to kill everyone on the planet when you do it, mmmkay?
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Oh, I don't blindly trust any countries government. Rather, I trust any countries government to say only what makes them look best, true or not.
More importantly, because just recently, China announced the exactly same story http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/25/2145209 [slashdot.org] *before* they had even *launched*...
Well.
Just as it's not good to discount /everything/ that some countries announce, sometimes the skepticism is well earned.
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More importantly, because just recently, China announced the exactly same story http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/09/25/2145209 [slashdot.org] [slashdot.org] *before* they had even *launched*...
So you are saying the Chinese pulled a dupe?
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If the Canadian government announced they had landed on the moon, I would likely not believe that. China, well, it's not particularly surprising they were able to put a man in orbit. Almost a non-event.
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That sounds somehow familiar [dallasnews.com].
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Your skepticism is likely well placed. These are the same people who posted details about the launch hours before the actual launch took place:
http://gizmodo.com/5054776/china-launch-success-hits-web-hours-before-actual-blast+off [gizmodo.com]
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think it's that unusual for a press agency to write about events before they happen. They're expected to put out a release almost immediately to various wires (like AP), or they'll get scooped by other reporters and bloggers.
I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and suggest that they wrote the release as I would expect, and it somehow got out before it should have.
You can also bet that both of our US Presidential candidates are already working on their acceptance speeches, and will have them completed days before the election even takes place. I'm sure their campaigns' press releases already have quotes in them, too.
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Press releases....sure. Transcripts!?
You're joking, right?
A press release for a successful mission would read like, "The People's Republic Of China successfully inserted their latest spaceship into LEO."
If it's circulated after the event it's non-fiction - provided the ship didn't actually burn on the launch pad. If it's circulated *before* the event has taken place it's called fiction....or, dare I say, propaganda. See the difference?
As far as the transcripts go, I take it with a grain of salt. China is s
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:4, Interesting)
It was a fuckup, nothing more imho.
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Forgive my skepticism, but this is exactly the sort of thing that China commonly lies about.
The fact they had a spacewalk or the fact they did it without loss of human life?
Really, there is nothing gained long term if they lie about a space walk and frankly Soviets did it without lying. They could have, but so could the Americans about the moon.
Secondly, it would be easier to send up a few people to die than actually fake it. Not to mention that anyone can intercept the signals they are broadcasting. Sure t
Bah! (Score:2)
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Forgive my skepticism, but this is exactly the sort of thing that China commonly lies about.
Finally conspiracy tards will be satisfied, there really will be a faked moon landing.
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Surely someone can get out a telescope and see if there is a little man floating around in the sky?
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Check Google "orbit view" on Google Sky ... I think he was scratching his balls at the time.
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Given that China is emerging as a new player in space technology, the USA is probably watching the event closely. Ask them.
But then, this is exactly the sort of thing that US government lies about ;-p (other countries having threatening technology that could be applied for military use)
Seriously, when has China lied about space missions?
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Funny)
Nothing to see here...
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Well... except there are a lot of countries out there (ours very much included) with lots of technology watching the sky. I would *think* that if you wanted to fake something in Space, you'd need to have NASA complicit in your hoax. I kind of doubt that happened.
I'm skeptical of China too. But, I love space. Congrats guys, amazing accomplishment.
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I'm not sure, nasa will certainly be able to detect your craft and work out it's approximate size but I'm not so sure they would be able to tell if for example a spacewalk had really been performed or if that was just video footage prepared in a faking lab and sent up with the spaceship. Hell I don't even see how they can tell for sure if there are live humans on board.
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You mean the fireworks that actually happened? How much do you know about your supposed fake fireworks anyway?
Re:Non-Chinese proof of this? (Score:5, Insightful)
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The proper term is Tychonaut.
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