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I know Hacker news likes "Technically Correct - the Best kind of Correct" but in what sense is China 'ahead' here? It may be obvious but there are plenty more
by johnzim 10y ago
I know Hacker news likes "Technically Correct - the Best kind of Correct" but in what sense is China 'ahead' here?
It may be obvious but there are plenty more Americans who are back and walking around on planet earth than there are Chinese astronauts who have been put into orbit.
- baq 10y agoplease do not confuse current capability with the sum of achievements. USA has put multiple men on the surface of the Moon. what of it if it doesn't have a man-rated launcher now? SLS is a jobs program that's years from launching. Atlas V? not rated. Delta IV? being phased out and also not rated. Falcon 9? not rated. Antares? not rated. New Glenn? announced last month, hardware doesn't exist. ITS? you know the drill. tell me in what way the current US capacity of launching men into space is ahead of China's?
- jacquesm 10y agoWhat does being 'rated' mean in this context, do the Chinese and American entities building spacecraft use uniform criteria for these ratings? Or is it simply what gets built and stamped that way by local varieties?
- baq 10y agotechnically it's the stamps. practically, no stamps means nobody goes to space.
- crypto5 10y agoUSA is strongly profit oriented. There is very little profit in launching man to the space, but it you will look at the number of satellites in the space: China: 218 US: 1341 http://www.n2yo.com/satellites/?c=&t=country http://www.n2yo.com/satellites/?c=&t=country