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China Reportedly Developing Space Plane by Jeffery Lundblad
Not long ago the United States tested a fascinating if mysterious craft known as the X-37B. The X-37B can be thought of as a smaller, remote-controlled Space Shuttle , which apparently can be used (and re-used) for military purposes. That said, the Pentagon will not reveal exactly what it is designed to do, that is anyone’s guess at the moment. The X-37B’s test flight was a complete success, and perhaps the beginning of a fleet of spacecraft that could play a decisive role in future conflicts.
The prospect of conflict in space has become a reality in the last few years, starting with a Chinese missile test which “shot down” a Chinese weather satellite. The test was condemned by the United States as needless provocation (need I mention that both the United States and Russia did the same thing decades before?). If the United States’ “do-as-I-say, not-as-I-do” mentality wasn’t apparent enough, just one year after the United States did exactly the same thing. However, the US claims that their satellite was “leaking” hazardous material, and needed to be destroyed to prevent health problems on the ground. I never bought that explanation, and new Wikileaks cables proved my suspicions correct: it was a display of force against the Chinese.
The X-37B flight has further heightened a sense of animosity between the great powers, but don’t think that the US is the only nation with a space plane in the works. Our friends here: http://dvice.com/archives/2011/02/are-china-and-r.php have, among many other sources, confirmed that Russia too is working on a space plane similar to the X-37B.
But where is China in all this? Are they sitting idly by? The fact of the matter is that we don’t know how far along they are, but I believe they are further along than our friends at dvice.com would have us believe. Where is my evidence? Well, years ago, this photo emerged of what is clearly a reusable space plane being testing below a Chinese H-6 bomber:
Virtually nothing is known about this craft, but the white/black tiling suggests that it is designed for re-entry from space. This was 5 years ago, I am sure they have moved on to something bigger these days. Which brings me to my second piece of evidence. It appears China recently tested their space plane. At least according to sources all over the net.
Such as this: http://www.todaysviews.com/?p=1117
It is a well known fact that China has been researching re-usable spacecraft since the 1980s (Look up Project 921-3) as a Space-Shuttle-like follow up to their current Shenzhou Spacecraft. This program easily could have evolved into an smaller, simpler, unmanned version for military purposes. (Note: That is the same path the X-37B took…it started off as a civilian project that later was adopted for military purposes).
To conclude, I will say that warfare’s move to space is inevitable. After all, armed conflict began on land, only to extend to the seas. By the 19th century, the empire that controlled the seas also ruled the Earth (think British Empire). However, in the 20th century a new battlefield emerged…the air. The United States has ruled the air since WWII and this fact has allowed the US to maintain military preeminence to this day. Now the race is on to rule space… because in the 21st century, whoever can control orbit will dominate the new world order.
From: http://politikalmatters.blogspot.com/
About the Author
I am a student of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My specialty is in American and Chinese politics. I created this blog to right the wrongs of the media, and to provide a unique perspective on contemporary political matters.
WWII Pacific Naval and Air Battles