Letter From Asia: China In Space

I'm Barry Petersen…and this Letter from Asia comes from Beijing.

I want to talk about something you may not have heard much about…but you will…the Chinese space program.

They just finished their second mission…Their rocket put their spacecraft into orbit… With two astronauts celebrated all through their five day mission. At one point, proud relatives gathered at mission control to sing a happy birthday to one of the crew.

Old stuff, you say? We Yanks did all this back in the '60s.

Well, keep in mind that, including the Chinese, only three countries have launched men or women into space.

The Russian program is pretty well broke. It's scraping together money with such tricks as selling rides to the space station to millionaire space tourists. And NASA is caught up trying to make the shuttle work, where now each flight is a nail-biting experience…especially after two shuttles have been lost.

But China? No money problems. This is a one-party, communist country and when the boss says pay what it takes for the space program, there are no taxpayers to complain.

But it's also a matter of national pride. When the Chinese launched, people stopped on street corners to and here's what they said to us:

On the street, the Chinese say the space program gives great honor to their country and that it shows China's technology is world class.

When the two astronauts came home…it was, what else, well-staged for propaganda, a hero's welcome.

The Chinese showed all the mission live on TV, from launch to landing…something the U.S. does but the Russians never dared. Obviously, the Chinese are confident.

Now the Chinese are making plans for a lunar trip some years down the road. And after the moon…who knows…maybe the first colony on Mars will speak Mandarin.

Perhaps this will inspire a whole new space competition…money spent not on weapons…but seeing who can reach the far reaches of space…who can make it to the final frontier.

Pick a side, my friends. China's space program is up and running…and the race is on.

by Barry Petersen