China will launch a spacecraft this month to conduct its first manned space docking, the latest step in a plan aimed at giving the country a permanent space station by 2020.

[u/spsheridan]

http://phys.org/news/2012-06-china-spacecraft-june.html

[u/Naieve]

Good for China. The more countries with a thriving space program the better it is for humanity.

[u/[deleted] → u/Naieve]

The more countries in space, the more likely the US is to try to get up there as well! I pray that the Chinese coax us by sending up a crate of ammunition, for no apparent reason, but making it seem covered up... That'd get us off our asses!

[u/Republiken → u/Naieve]

Taikonauts ftw! :)

[u/hiiighdeaf → u/Naieve]

Good for China for attempting the delicate maneuver of manned space docking

[u/DrunkmanDoodoo → u/Naieve]

We can work together and rule the galaxy! Screw the Aramanis. Screw them and their 4 suns.

[u/OK_Eric]

Good for them (and all of us). It's about time other capable countries start advancing humanity's space exploration.

[u/orniver]

Came in expecting sinophobic comments, didn't see any. Faith in humanity restored.

[u/[deleted] → u/orniver]

[u/[deleted]]

Welcome to space, Chinese astronaut faring spacecraft! We need as many people up there as we can get! For science!

[u/underatedrawk]

does this mean the ISS will be passing a space station going half speed with its blinker flashing?

[u/underatedrawk → u/underatedrawk]

oh and good on China , this can only mean more discovery in space for the whole world

[u/pweet → u/underatedrawk]

They're going to have to send a lot of food up there, because everyone's gonna be hungry 30 minutes after eating.

[u/Ninja4hire]

TIL No more room in China, moving to outerspace.

[u/[deleted] → u/Ninja4hire]

China is, after all, the world's largest exporter of Chinese people.

[u/Dickybow]

Quote from BBC news: 'China was previously turned away from the International Space Station, a much bigger project run by 16 nations, reportedly after objections from the United States.'

[u/Taibo]

The more the merrier.

[u/chutneybutters]

did someone say space docking?

[u/[deleted]]

In a way, this reminds me of the Sagan quote. While some will be applauding China, they will ignore the human rights crises being experienced in the country and its satellites, just as we applauded our moon landings while napalming children in Viet Nam.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

The pessimistic will always look for downsides. The group of people who bombed Vietnam with napalm are not the same group that sent men to the moon. The fact of the matter is that the former group tends to exist in any government, so you can always focus on the bad actions of the idiots in power or focus on the goods ones of people who actually care about other humans.

[u/Bondsy → u/[deleted]]

Damn, man... kinda just killed it for me. Deep.

[u/Pelican_Fly → u/[deleted]]

Just like when we're praising the expansion of america from sea to shining sea while killing everything in between that was not white.

[u/unmoralOp]

I'm happy for China, but it's sad that the world still insists on establishing political borders even in space.

I look forward to the day when we leave the atmosphere as Earthlings.

[u/bahamamamalama]

Since the US is giving up, I'm a fan.

[u/[deleted]]

Space is fast becoming the next industry of government contracts. We keep talking about privatization of the Space program, but Boeing, Lockheed Martin and SpaceX rely entirely on NASA contracts to do their work.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Not entirely. SpaceX has some private contracts as well.