Chinese science will march on despite obstacles
- As the space programme proves, in the absence of cooperation, the nation’s scientists and engineers are only too willing and able to carry out their own research and development and are not daunted by setbacks
There is perhaps no more powerful a symbol of a nation’s might than the sight of a space-bound rocket lifting off. The recent launch of China’s Long March 5 was that and more; towering and explosive, it roared skywards, hefting its satellite payload into orbit and proving once again a scientific and technological capacity to transcend boundaries and attain new heights. After a series of setbacks, the successful flight was an important confidence booster for engineers and scientists. But it also signalled that the Chinese space programme is back on track and ready for the next stage of its evolution.
China’s space programme gets back on track with successful rocket launch
Long March 5 is the biggest and most powerful Chinese rocket ever developed, the one launched last Friday able to heft payloads of up to 25 tonnes into low-Earth orbit. On board was China’s heaviest and most advanced satellite, the experimental Shijian 20, which will provide ultra-fast data transmission speeds and test a laser communications payload. Standing 56 metres high and weighing almost 867 tonnes, the rocket will reportedly enable the launch of modules for the nation’s space station, a Mars lander later this year and a moon mission to bring back surface samples. A modified version is also expected to take into orbit the planned successor of the Shenzhou crewed spacecraft.
Those projects were put on hold in July 2017 when an earlier version of the Long March 5 failed in mid-flight, destroying the Shijian 18 satellite it was carrying. Engineers redesigned the fuel pump system and two years later, the third successful launch of a Long March 5 has put China’s space programme back on an upwards trajectory. There is no better evidence of Chinese capabilities when it comes to indigenous research and development.
It is precisely such prowess that has the United States blocking and banning hi-tech products from China and urging allies to follow suit. The flaw to such a strategy is that it leads to broken supply chains and fragmented networks. Nor will it stifle or halt China’s technological rise. As the space programme proves, in the absence of cooperation, the nation’s scientists and engineers are only too willing and able to carry out their own research and development and are not daunted by setbacks.
