Saturday, November 15, 2003
CHINA KEEPS GOING UP
China's successfully made another satellite launch. By itself, this isn't news, but some of the details in this story are worth noting. This is the fourth succesful launch China's made in a month, counting its first manned space flight. The LM3 rocket was launched from Sichuan, a different launch facility from the one Yang Liwei departed from. The satellite went into a geosynchronous orbit, ten times higher than the Shenzhou orbit, and weight over two tons. And this was the 32nd consecutive successful launch since 1996. Taken together, the are very impressive facts, and show that China's space program has real depth to match the ambitions that are now increasingly a matter of public presentation. The dragon has truly flown.
GB, THHotA
posted by Greg 7:11 AM
