JPThorne writes "BBC Online is reporting that China will launch a manned space mission sometime between Wednesday and Sunday of this week. Two as yet unnamed Chinese Astronauts will undertake the mission." From the article: "The launch comes almost exactly two years after China's first manned space flight, which made astronaut Yang Liwei a national hero. Unlike the last mission, Xinhua said a live broadcast of the launch would be provided to foreign media. Analysts say the fact the authorities are being more open about this launch may indicate that they are more confident of its success. " Another Taikonaut Launch This Week Log in/Create an Account | Top | 204 comments | Search Discussion Display Options Threshold: -1: 204 comments 0: 203 comments 1: 170 comments 2: 113 comments 3: 22 comments 4: 9 comments 5: 6 comments Flat Nested No Comments Threaded Oldest First Newest First Highest Scores First Oldest First (Ignore Threads) Newest First (Ignore Threads) The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way. I swear (Score:5, Funny) by $RANDOMLUSER (804576) on Tuesday October 11, @03:14PM (#13767223) I read "Take Out Naut". [ Reply to ThisRe:I swear by Joe the Lesser (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:35PMRe:I swear by Ranger (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:35PMRe:I swear by shotfeel (Score:3)Tuesday October 11, @03:46PMRe:I swear by F�an�ro (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:27PMIt's just incredibly stupid. by sulli (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:38PMRe:It's just incredibly stupid. by Cryp2Nite (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @06:13PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:I swear by jferris (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:10PMRe:I swear by Phae (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:49PMRe:I swear by Simonetta (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @06:35PMRe:I swear by innosent (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @08:49PMRe:I swear by Simonetta (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @09:25PM Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go back (Score:5, Insightful) by Kelson (129150) * on Tuesday October 11, @03:15PM (#13767228) (http://www.hyperborea.org/) Meanwhile, back in the US, the Republicans claim they want to take us back to space but aren't willing to put their money where their mouth is (though they're quite happy to cut funding for robotic exploration in order to free up the funds!), the Democrats seem to be opposing space exploration on the grounds that the Republicans are for it, and NASA's manned space division doesn't seem to be able to get its act together enough to actually give us a safer orbiter, never mind something that can take us to the Moon or Mars.Dontcha love partisan politics? [ Reply to ThisRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by DigiShaman (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:22PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Rei (Score:3)Tuesday October 11, @03:30PM Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b (Score:4, Insightful) by CaptainFork (865941) on Tuesday October 11, @03:46PM (#13767544) Yep, well, governments are all the same of course.The differences are with the ideologies. But ask yourself this: Do you own your ideology, or does it own you?An alien visitor to earth would probably say "take me to your leading meme". [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Wyatt Earp (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:49PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by gstoddart (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:44PM Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b (Score:5, Insightful) by Kelson (129150) * on Tuesday October 11, @03:34PM (#13767443) (http://www.hyperborea.org/) I bet that China will land man on the moon a few times and never go back. Basically, it's pure politics and not science. ...been there, done that.Just like the US...If we'd been interested in going to the moon for the sake of exploration and science instead of just getting there before the Russians did, we'd probably still be there. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by PaxTech (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:02PM Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b (Score:5, Insightful) by MightyMartian (840721) on Tuesday October 11, @03:36PM (#13767456) Let's face facts here. China is a space power now. Sure they're where the Russians and Americans were in the early 1960s, but considering the costs and expertise required to get a human into space and back again alive, it's an extraordinary feat for a country that just a half century ago was recovering from the ravages of a civil war and a foreign occupation of a good portion of its soil. China realizes what the US and Russia have temporarily forgotten, that with virtually all the borders on this planet drawn for good, power and security rest in space.Going to the Moon may be just a PR stunt (it pretty much was when the US did it), but the technologies and expertise gained from that are enormous, and China is taking its rightful place as the third space power. It's a few decades behind, but moving fast, and say what you like, the Kremlin and the White House will very much be watching when a Taikonaut steps off the land on to the surface of the Moon. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by grumpyman (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:48PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by DigiShaman (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:08PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by grumpyman (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:20PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by cosmo7 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:12PMMy child doesn't know how to tie his shoes by fortunate_monk (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @05:47PMRe:My child doesn't know how to tie his shoes by grumpyman (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @06:35PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by rovingeyes (Score:3)Tuesday October 11, @03:23PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Anonymous Coward (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:25PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by CyricZ (Score:3)Tuesday October 11, @03:26PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Wyatt Earp (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:52PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Dante Shamest (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:27PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Kelson (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:40PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by shotfeel (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:49PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Vellmont (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:59PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Vellmont (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @07:01PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by FleaPlus (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:19PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by CaffeineAddict2001 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:25PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:34PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:54PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by bluGill (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:34PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by MightyMartian (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:42PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by CaffeineAddict2001 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:18PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by MightyMartian (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:24PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:25PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Kelson (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:10PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:24PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by macdaddy357 (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:28PM Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b (Score:4, Informative) by amightywind (691887) on Tuesday October 11, @04:42PM (#13768140) Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go back Yes, I would. If China succeeds in there next mission they will equal the result of Gemini 4. That puts them only 40 years behind. Remember that they got a jump start too by buying Russion Soyuz spacecraft. Their booster is similar to a Proton. When China produces a real innovation I'll take notice. In the meantime they are also rans. Meanwhile, back in the US, the Republicans claim they want to take us back to space but aren't willing to put their money where their mouth is (though they're quite happy to cut funding for robotic exploration in order to free up the funds!) What??? NASA's budget continues to grow in real terms. Robotic exploration of the solar system has never been in better shape. You have the wildly successful Cassini. We have two excellent orbiters circling Mars with a 3rd more powerful one on the way. The Mars rovers are arguably the most successful robotic exploration mission in history! There is another huge rover headed there in 2009, a new Lunar Orbiter... What are you talking about? and NASA's manned space division doesn't seem to be able to get its act together enough to actually give us a safer orbiter, never mind something that can take us to the Moon or Mars. NASA has proposed a very workable and exciting exploration plan with the CEV. The major launch components are already there. Where is the risk in its design? NASA kept the wheels on the shuttle program admirably. Nobody can make it safe. The CEV goes back to what works. Real skepticism is healthy. Your nihilism is not. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by JahToasted (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @08:24PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by gi-tux (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:14PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by MtViewGuy (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:38PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by cobbaut (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:46PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by MtViewGuy (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:58PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by cobbaut (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @06:07PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by MtViewGuy (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @06:36PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:31PMSpeaking of Nazis.. by CyricZ (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:40PMRe:Speaking of Nazis.. by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:42PMRe:Speaking of Nazis.. by Kelson (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:55PMRe:Speaking of Nazis.. by Kelson (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:04PMRe:Speaking of Nazis.. by CyricZ (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @09:32PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Rei (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:02PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @05:41PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:39PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by CyricZ (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:43PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:49PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by CyricZ (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:51PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:58PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by CyricZ (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:08PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Cro Magnon (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:27PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by CyricZ (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @09:34PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:14PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by ncc74656 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @06:39PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Rei (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:27PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:20PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Rei (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:04PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @05:27PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Rei (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:45PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @05:57PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by Rei (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @07:11PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @07:27PMRe:Wanna bet China reaches the moon before we go b by RentonSentinel (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @07:35PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.2 replies beneath your current threshold.1 reply beneath your current threshold.4 replies beneath your current threshold. So I guess... (Score:3, Interesting) by lucabrasi999 (585141) on Tuesday October 11, @03:16PM (#13767235) (Last Journal: Friday September 30, @09:31AM) I guess this means that since China can now afford to send (two) ships into space, it doesn't need any more Foreign Aid from the EU, Japan or the US. [ Reply to ThisRe:So I guess... by rovingeyes (Score:3)Tuesday October 11, @03:30PMRe:So I guess... by lucabrasi999 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:33PMRe:So I guess... by mmkkbb (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:40PMRe:So I guess... by lucabrasi999 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:46PMRe:So I guess... by rovingeyes (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:43PMRe:So I guess... by lucabrasi999 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:55PMRe:US National Debt by vertinox (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:55PMRe:US National Debt by chord.wav (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @05:42PMRe:US National Debt by vertinox (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @06:48PMRe:US National Debt by JahToasted (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @08:33PMRe:So I guess... by DeepDarkSky (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:46PMChina is a poor country... by Goonie (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @06:06PMRe:China is a poor country... by HungWeiLo (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @06:32PMRe:So I guess... by Deliveranc3 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:01PMRe:So I guess... by bbc (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @08:26PM3 replies beneath your current threshold. space pirates (Score:1, Funny) by captnjameskirk (599714) on Tuesday October 11, @03:17PM (#13767251) With all that pirated NASA software, how hard could it be? [ Reply to ThisRe:space pirates by Mingco (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:26PMRe:space pirates by Mab_Mass (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:34PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:space pirates by JasonKChapman (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:21PM With apologies (Score:2, Funny) by krgallagher (743575) on Tuesday October 11, @03:21PM (#13767296) (http://www.krgallagher.com/) Q: What is the difference between the Chinese and US space programs.A: In China tang in an astronaut. [ Reply to ThisRe:With apologies by flood6 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:37PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. This will certainly upset Bush! (Score:3, Funny) by uncoveror (570620) on Tuesday October 11, @03:22PM (#13767301) (http://www.uncoveror.com/) The whole reason he wants to go back to the moon is so Red China can't control all the green cheese. [uncoveror.com] [ Reply to ThisRe:This will certainly upset Bush! by shotfeel (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:57PM waiting for aussie to go into space (Score:4, Funny) by ptr2004 (695756) on Tuesday October 11, @03:23PM (#13767308) Then we will have a real AUSTRONAUT [ Reply to ThisRe:waiting for aussie to go into space by turgid (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:28PMRe:waiting for aussie to go into space by torpor (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:46PMRe:waiting for aussie to go into space by 8127972 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:54PMOr the great Canadian Space Program by sunwukong (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:03PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Unified terminology (Score:3, Insightful) by KrancHammer (416371) <GunseMatt AT hotmail DOT com> on Tuesday October 11, @03:24PM (#13767327) Can we please decide on a single term for those persons who travel into space? Must we have a unique term for every national space program? Cosmonaut, Astronaut, Taikonaut. Its one thing for speakers of a language to refer to an equivalent English term by their own unique word, but why must we (we being English speakers) adopt a different term? Its silly. We generally do not do this for any other nouns. We don't call a Russian sailor by the Anglicized Russian term for sailer, do we? Sorry. Pet peeve. [ Reply to ThisRe:Unified terminology by Quiet_Desperation (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @03:28PMRe:Unified terminology by KrancHammer (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:34PMRe:Unified terminology by trepan (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:53PMRe:Unified terminology by sabernet (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:40PMRe:Unified terminology by Erandir (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @05:08PMSpace Human In Transit by turgid (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:16PMRe:Space Human In Transit by p2sam (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:20PMRe:A good quote to understands this reason... by vertinox (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @07:08PM'Taikonaut' is a bogus word by 21mhz (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @11:54PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. Yang Liwei very lucky man (Score:1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 11, @03:25PM (#13767336) Yang Liwei is a very lucky man.Rumor has it that the freeze-dried, astronaut kung pao chicken is to die for. :) [ Reply to This Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese (Score:5, Interesting) by justanyone (308934) on Tuesday October 11, @03:25PM (#13767338) (http://justanyone.com/ | Last Journal: Monday October 03, @02:51PM) From the Article: Shenzhou VI, like Shenzhou V, is based on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, a model developed in the late 1960s. TFA (The F-ing Article) reads as if they are working with 1960-s era technology. I would suggest that this is biased reporting based on a premise that the Chinese technology is from the 1960's and they're using it now because that's the best they can do.Instead, I would suggest that they are probably using a derivative of the Soyuz technology updated with modern materials and techniques. The U.S. is using Delta launch vehicles which had their roots in the 1960's as well, but we don't advertise that a rocket was a "Delta-IV, a model developed in the early 1960's" because most of the innards have been updated and redesigned with techniques and materials that are the latest in rocket design.The Chinese program may not use as advanced a technology as the U.S. Delta and E.U.'s Ariane programs, but that doesn't mean the rocket was designed in the 1960's and they're stuck still using that level of ability.Space reporting should not be politically biased. [ Reply to ThisRe:Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese by Amazing Proton Boy (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:54PM Re:Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese (Score:5, Interesting) by justanyone (308934) on Tuesday October 11, @04:15PM (#13767850) (http://justanyone.com/ | Last Journal: Monday October 03, @02:51PM) Complete, relevent section of article reads:Technical improvements:Shenzhou VI, like Shenzhou V, is based on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, a model developed in the late 1960s.Liu Yu, commander in chief of the rocket system, said the rocket for Shenzhou VI was an improvement on the one used two years ago. "We have confidence in the quality of this rocket. We have the conditions and capability to fulfil this mission," Mr Liu told Xinhua.Mr Yang's flight in 2003 made China only the third nation to put a human into space, after Russia and the United States. China has had a rocketry program since the 1950s, and Beijing fired its first satellite into orbit in 1970. China's space programme, which is closely linked to the military, is a matter of enormous national pride for the government. Chinese officials say they want to land an unmanned probe on the moon by 2010, and also build a space station.I stand by my previous assessment. I acknowledge that some articles mention that Delta rockets are derived from 1950's American THOR IRBM military rockets (see: Delta_rocket on Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]). However, most mention that this has been significantly improved in the intervening decades. This article has a subtle bias that I want to highlight; the idea that the Chinese (and even Russian) Soyuz-derived rockets are somehow outdated, backward, stone-age 1960's-era technology compared to U.S. and E.U. models (like, laughably, the Space Shuttle, designed in the very early 1970's for quasi-military missions).Admittedly, some of the Chinese technology might seem backward. In the 1980's, they lauched a probe that had to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and needed a heat shield. They researched a bunch of different high tech materials, testing ablating rates, weight, cost, heat transfer, etc., and finally settled on Oak. Yes, a wooden heat shield. It apparently ablated at a known and reliable rate, was a good heat insulator, and had many other benefits, the very least of which was cost. I recognize engineering genius in this decision, but the reporting on it laughed and laughed about the low-tech, backwards-assed Chinese program. I disrespect reporting that presumes that high tech requires high cost; I also disrespect reporting that pretends that basic designs originating in the 1960's but refined constantly since then are somehow less than state of the art.In programming, it's "On the shoulders of giants we climb"; this is true of many engineering disciplines and I want to highlight the sometimes subtle bias in science reporting presuming all-new == much-better. [ Reply to This | ParentRe:Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese by Amazing Proton Boy (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:29PMRe:Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese by MightyYar (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:40PMRe:Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese by jandrese (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:43PMAll-New == The-Uber by SpectralDesign (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @08:52PM1 reply beneath your current threshold.Re:Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese by slashdotnickname (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:00PMRe:Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese by justanyone (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:35PMRe:Biased Reporting - "Backward", Anti-Chinese by Deliveranc3 (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @05:03PMISS docking prospects by matt me (Score:3)Tuesday October 11, @05:13PM good public motivation (Score:2, Insightful) by globaljustin (574257) on Tuesday October 11, @03:27PM (#13767350) From a technical aspect China is in somewhere between Gemini and Apollo.  An individual with enough money could do the same thing.  The reality of this endeavor does not really justify any fears of space/technology domination by China.It good, however, for the general public to see this kind of headline.  It reminds them that space exists and that the U.S. doesn't run the show up there anymore.  Hopefully this leads to funding... [ Reply to ThisRe:good public motivation by CaptainFork (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:31PMRe:good public motivation by Dante Shamest (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:38PMRe:good public motivation by $RANDOMLUSER (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:29PM1 reply beneath your current threshold. 57-60% change chinese on moon by 2020 (Score:2) by randall_burns (108052) <randall_burns.hotmail@com> on Tuesday October 11, @03:29PM (#13767372) These odds [ideosphere.com] are from Ideosphere [ideosphere.com].If the Chinese go to the moon, I don't think it will be just a publicity stunt-I expect they'll develop a real economic presence there. Stuff like a Lunar space elevator [wikipedia.org] could be a highly profitable enterprise.This may be what is needed to show just how short-sighted the folks running the US these days really are. [ Reply to ThisRe:57-60% change chinese on moon by 2020 by efuzzyone (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @03:45PMRe:57-60% change chinese on moon by 2020 by Red Flayer (Score:3)Tuesday October 11, @03:51PMRe:57-60% change chinese on moon by 2020 by randall_burns (Score:2)Wednesday October 12, @12:13AM Amazing. (Score:1) by cached (801963) on Tuesday October 11, @03:29PM (#13767373) Whats amazing is how long it took, since China has had a rocketry program since the 1950s, and Beijing fired its first satellite into orbit in 1970. [ Reply to ThisRe:Amazing. by bbc (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @09:33PM Taikonaut selection... (Score:1) by butterwise (862336) on Tuesday October 11, @03:30PM (#13767379) Two as yet unnamed Chinese Astronauts will undertake the mission.I guess this depends on which two they can pull away from the chat rooms and online games. [slashdot.org] [ Reply to This From China's press... (Score:2) by jabex (320163) on Tuesday October 11, @03:31PM (#13767403) (http://www.world-development.org/) Also reported on the People's Daily Online [peopledaily.com.cn]. Including an interesting story [peopledaily.com.cn] about how they aren't experimenting with "space mutation breeding".Aww, and I was so looking forward to the catchphrases that would've spawned. [ Reply to This This will....... (Score:2) by 8127972 (73495) on Tuesday October 11, @03:44PM (#13767516) ..... Likely kick start efforts to get the Space Shuttle back into the air along with accelerating efforts to get a moon shot going ASAP. Just like the old days with the USSR! [ Reply to ThisRe:This will....... by Kelson (Score:2)Tuesday October 11, @04:19PM Success? (Score:1) by pyro jackelope (771283) on Tuesday October 11, @03:48PM (#13767562) "Analysts say the fact the authorities are being more open about this launch may indicate that they are more confident of its success. "So what...the guy is a national hero because he died or came back disfigured or something? [ Reply to This Taikonaut to confirm GreatWall is visible in Space (Score:3, Interesting) by digitaldc (879047) on Tuesday October 11, @03:56PM (#13767633) 'Chinese officials say they want to land an unmanned probe on the moon by 2010, and also build a space station.'this reminded me of the quote: "That's no moon, its a space station."Many insights to the moon could be gained from a new and sophistacated moon probe, I am not as sure about the benefits of the space station other than for scientific experiments and spacedocking practice.The question now is: Should the US, Russia, EU, Japan and China all be obligated to share individual research and information acquired from each mission in the hopes to further the overall objective of creating reliable space travel?Also, once some country lands on the moon, can they just claim it as territory and start building on it in any fashion? [ Reply to ThisRe:Taikonaut to confirm GreatWall is visible in Sp by NeutronCowboy (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @04:26PMRe:Taikonaut to confirm GreatWall is visible in Sp by Troglodyt (Score:1)Tuesday October 11, @06:10PM The Ultimate (Score:2) by Nom du Keyboard (633989) on Tuesday October 11, @04:03PM (#13767720) Sounds like the ultimate in Chinese take-out. [ Reply to This The launch is today. (Score:1, Informative) by MOGua (750520) on Tuesday October 11, @05:10PM (#13768423) (http://qster.com/)