China Has Three Reusable Rockets Ready for Their Debut Flights

Post by jltsiren » Wed, Nov 26, 2025, 10:30 PM UTC

bpodgursky wrote: post #25

estimator7292 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly I doubt it. Current government doesn't really have the ability to get their shit together and compete with anyone in any capacity. As much as usgov would love another reason to clutch pearls and shriek about China, we simply don't have the industry or resources to compete without a federal investment so massive that we wouldn't have any tax money left to give to the already ludicrously wealthy. And we can't…

I actually think the US industry is perfectly capable of competing in the space race if given regulatory streamlining, long-term consistent goals, and relatively modest funding by congress. But none of those are going to happen. I mean SpaceX was delayed to do an environmental impact statement to check whether their rockets would land on whales in the gulf of mexico. Nobody's serious.

Post by cmcclellan » Wed, Nov 26, 2025, 10:45 PM UTC

poszlem wrote: post #39

nitwit005 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The practical part of space flight is launching satellites, and weapons. Both countries are already doing both. If we're discussing manned missions to the moon or Mars, as an American I'd prefer China spent all the money and the US didn't bother. It'd be cool to see it happen, but no one can identify practical benefits, aside from a political win.

That take is unbelievably shortsighted. A Far Side lunar base is not some cool sci fi brag. It is a massive strategic advantage, and brushing it off misses everything that actually matters. The Far Side is the only place in the Earth Moon system where you can hide military hardware and basically disappear. No optical tracking, no radar, no interception. The Moon itself becomes a giant wall of rock that blocks sensors…

Post by jayd16 » Wed, Nov 26, 2025, 11:01 PM UTC

_DeadFred_ wrote: post #62

jayd16 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who pays for it? It would be pretty funny to try to borrow from China... So even if its just a jobs program with a neat outcome, we'd have to deal with tax reform first, I'd imagine.

You know the Chinese government is more in debt than the United States, right? It's structured differently, but that doesn't change much. Or is worse, because you can end up with the government backing/cosigning for government joint ventures in the same industries all over the nation (for example EVs).

Post by pantalaimon » Wed, Nov 26, 2025, 11:03 PM UTC

poszlem wrote: post #44

danny_codes wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This doesn’t make any sense. You must be trolling or a bot. What good does inter-planetary bombardment do me? I already have enough nukes to destroy the world. I mean it’s a bit redundant

You open by calling me a bot, which is an odd way to start a serious argument. It isn’t about extra ways to blow things up. It’s about survivability and leverage. A platform you can’t detect or preempt changes deterrence dynamics, just like subs do. The advantage comes from being untargetable, not from adding more warheads.

Post by mcculley » Wed, Nov 26, 2025, 11:32 PM UTC

JKCalhoun wrote: post #2

That's awesome. Secretly (?) I'm hoping for another "space race"— this time between the U.S. and China. I'm hoping this for the U.S.'s sake. I'm hoping that good can come of it.