NASA says the International Space Station partner countries have not invited China to join the orbiting lab complex, dismissing a Russian news story proclaiming the Russian space agency contacted the rising space power about signing on to the project, reports SpaceflightNow.But leaders of the Russian space program and the European Space Agency have been open to Chinese participation in the international project. Over a year ago presidential science advisor John Holdren had suggested the possibility that US astronauts could fly aboard a Chinese spacecraft in the future.
A commercial path to enable a Chinese citizen to visit the ISS and a second mission to a Chinese space station in 2012/2013 has been suggested here in months past. Such a two mission international profile could lead to a diplomatic breakthrough at some subsequent date among human spacefaring nations, as has been suggested here in months past. [Hat tip to Doug Messier.]
No comments:
Post a Comment