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As last module docks, China completes its space station

nytimes.com

181–190 of 401 posts

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#181
post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So then maybe a little late to sanction their tech to keep them from being peer competitors.

That's way too broad, because it depends what it is. Surprisingly, it seems to be easier to build a space station than to compete with Boeing and Airbus.

Rocket engines are simpler than jet turbines, actually. It take a lot of material engineering to get something with both performance and economy. As for the rest, it’s just avionics that china hasn’t developed yet, and that really “just” software.

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of the features I know from the Chinese space station - Solar panels smaller in area than ISS but produces similar amount of power, indicating much more efficient solar panels - Ion thrusters to keep space in orbit - Automated docking of cargo and crew capsule. Semi-automated docking of large station components like the 23ton labs - A robotic arm similar to ISS that walk along the joint points on the station. It…

"sanction" is one of the dumbest words on earth. "to give official approval" vs "impose a penalty".

Yep and I have no idea what the OP meant by this.

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#183
post #137

I hope mankind can move beyond building space stations as a handful of modular small cylinders, and start building space stations the way they appear in science fiction: dozens of rooms, cubical exteriors, hallways, human height doors that open and close, stairs, elevators, hangars, a nuclear reactor instead of solar panels, and modules that rotate around an axis to create artificial gravity. And a more diversified c…

You should check out videos from inside Skylab if you haven't[1]. You can see people jogging around the perimeter like in 2001. It was so big that they worried that people who ended up in the middle would get stuck and have a hard time getting back to the walls. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZNKVnDvQY4&t=250s

Zero g tends to expand living spaces in general due to them becoming truly 3-dimensional. The volume of a tiny room on Earth can easily accomodate several people in orbit. Large spaces don't make much sense in these conditions, not just because of inefficiency, but because of the inconvenience of being stranded in the middle. You need some kind of handles or separators within the immediate reach - why not have actual walls then.

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not just that the key isn't populated; it's that it's undefined. FWIW, my browser (Chrome) works on the site even if I choose not to share geolocation; I assume because the API is populated even if it then refrains from sharing. Your point isn't quite wrong but it also isn't quite right; geolocation is supported by every browser listed on Mozilla's documentation ( https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API…

None of the browsers on my iPhone will render this site, W3C compliant or not. In any event, I would never tell my users that it's their fault that my app didn't check the truthiness of the object's property. Seems particularly hostile to one's users and customers, free product or not.

If you aren't paying the bills you aren't a customer. You are a recipient of a gift who is lecturing the creator on workmanship.

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sanctions are pretty irrelevant when China has one of the best hacking groups in the world and every US corporation of relevance is strongly connected to the Internet.

Yeah, because they are only this advanced because they stole US technology. Chinese people can't be as intelligent as american.

Intelligence is irrelevant. The US government would do exactly the same thing if they were way behind some other country in anything strategic.

The Chinese would be supremely unintelligent if they didn’t use that advantage.

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sanctions are pretty irrelevant when China has one of the best hacking groups in the world and every US corporation of relevance is strongly connected to the Internet.

Yeah, because they are only this advanced because they stole US technology. Chinese people can't be as intelligent as american.

I mean, american people is as intelligent as anyone else. By the sheer number, is not rare to think that they should have more people of high training on difficult areas to master.

What happens to the US is that they "borrow" a lot of intellectual capacity from abroad, and they have been doing that for a lot of time.

Also, stealing IP and resources has been the eternal strategy of empires to build themselves, US and Europe included.

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#188
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, because they are only this advanced because they stole US technology. Chinese people can't be as intelligent as american.

Actually, yes. That's accurate. Why would they waste time and their own money researching things when they can just steal it and then give that information to private and public Chinese industries? That is their entire MO. The Chinese are also responsible for $200-600 Billion worth of IP theft against the US every year. They will do whatever it takes to make China #1 and see nothing wrong with doing this. - https://w…

> Why would they waste time and their own money researching things when they can just steal it and then give that information to private and public Chinese industries?

Because this way you'll always be behind.

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#189
post #120

The frustrating aspect for me about CNSA is how little PR they do, at least towards west although I don't think even inside China they are giving that much extra info on the missions and their progress. Just compare the media spectacle around e.g. Perseverance rover wrt Tianwen-1. Sure NASA has more material to work with but still we are getting frequent mission updates and almost daily new pics to ogle; meanwhile th…

I’ve noticed that a lot of news about china’s progress is censored, probably so we dont see how fast they are progressing.

Re: As last module docks, China completes its space station

#190

Quoted post unavailable.

I hadn't noticed that, but it is interesting yeah. I have to assume cultural differences must play a role here. I don't know Chinese culture; perhaps it's more modest? Perhaps they'd find celebration in mission control untimely? Perhaps putting things in space is jut not as fundamental to Chinese culture, so people there treat it more like "just a job"?

The USA is a nation built by explorers that colonized frontier after frontier, and the space race is a legendary two decades where they explored the final one, pulled ahead of the USSR "not because it was easy but because it was hard", planted a flag in the Moon beating their nemesis in the process, and overall reaffirmed in their ethos this mythical American exceptionalism that's so often talked about. I think space still carries this mysticism to it in the USA; there's a lot of badass jobs out there, but none quite as badass as being an astronaut. There's a lot of hard jobs that require incredible planning and precision out there, but none quite like rocket science. There's a lot of science and engineering agencies, but none quite like NASA. All these have "cool" and/or "hero" status to them in the USA psyche.

Hollywood has certainly spread this sort of sentiment around the world (especially the "Westen" world), but I wonder how true this is in China. I will say though, there's a lot of jobs that don't awaken strong passions that are still done very well in the USA, so I can only imagine, even if they're not jumping up in elation, it'd still be possible for the Chinese to be at least competitive with the USA on matters of space. As an aside, I also wonder what makes Chinese people feel that pride, celebrate that brotherhood and passion, and if they perhaps thinks it's weird that the USA doesn't feeling the same way about whatever that is.

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