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With so much at stake, is it possible for all nations to play together and strive for the better good when it comes to space exploration?

TeMPOraL 10y ago
Only in movies. A lot of people (including poliicians deciding about treaties and budgets) do not believe there's really anything at stake, and instead think of space exploration as a very expensive nerd hobby with some possible military applications.
- jcoffland 10y ago
  And ironically those same people believe their silly little political games on earth are what's really important.
smileysteve 10y ago
Yes! This is the concept between ISS! The idea that we are regularly sharing launch missions is a great work for international diplomacy.
- ceejayoz 10y ago
  > Yes! This is the concept between ISS! Sort of. China is banned by the US government from participating in the ISS (or any other cooperation with NASA). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_exclusion_policy_of_NASA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_exclusion_policy_of_NA...
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    All space tech is necessarily dual-use military. I'm certain the concern is that space launch cooperation with PR China will result in unintentional transfer of militarily relevant technologies. Also, China is responsible for the largest single space debris generating event in history, from the intentional destruction of Fengyun-1C in 2007. That kind of thing doesn't matter to the politicians so much, but it was kind of a dick move, and had all the appearances of gratuitous saber-rattling. Space is too important for nationalist dick-measuring contests in LEO when it is already perilously close to Kessler cascade.
    - ceejayoz 10y ago
      That concern requires pretending (against all evidence) the Chinese haven't thoroughly penetrated US defense contractors' networks and personnel. http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fighter-hacking-idUSL2N0EV0T320130619 http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fighter-hacking-idUSL2N0E... We managed to cooperate with Russia, too. > Space is too important for nationalist dick-measuring contests in LEO... I posit that's exactly what the policy forbidding China from collaborating with NASA is.
      - logfromblammo 10y ago
        Nothing good will come of freezing China out of "international" space collaborations.
        ceejayoz 10y ago
        That's precisely my point.

TeMPOraL 10y ago

Only in movies. A lot of people (including poliicians deciding about treaties and budgets) do not believe there's really anything at stake, and instead think of space exploration as a very expensive nerd hobby with some possible military applications.

jcoffland 10y ago
And ironically those same people believe their silly little political games on earth are what's really important.

smileysteve 10y ago

Yes! This is the concept between ISS! The idea that we are regularly sharing launch missions is a great work for international diplomacy.

ceejayoz 10y ago
> Yes! This is the concept between ISS! Sort of. China is banned by the US government from participating in the ISS (or any other cooperation with NASA). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_exclusion_policy_of_NASA https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_exclusion_policy_of_NA...
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  All space tech is necessarily dual-use military. I'm certain the concern is that space launch cooperation with PR China will result in unintentional transfer of militarily relevant technologies. Also, China is responsible for the largest single space debris generating event in history, from the intentional destruction of Fengyun-1C in 2007. That kind of thing doesn't matter to the politicians so much, but it was kind of a dick move, and had all the appearances of gratuitous saber-rattling. Space is too important for nationalist dick-measuring contests in LEO when it is already perilously close to Kessler cascade.
  - ceejayoz 10y ago
    That concern requires pretending (against all evidence) the Chinese haven't thoroughly penetrated US defense contractors' networks and personnel. http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fighter-hacking-idUSL2N0EV0T320130619 http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fighter-hacking-idUSL2N0E... We managed to cooperate with Russia, too. > Space is too important for nationalist dick-measuring contests in LEO... I posit that's exactly what the policy forbidding China from collaborating with NASA is.
    - logfromblammo 10y ago
      Nothing good will come of freezing China out of "international" space collaborations.
      - ceejayoz 10y ago
        That's precisely my point.