CHINA
Newsweek, November 29, 1999 For years, China has dreamed of joining the United States and Russia in the manned space club. Last Saturday the Chinese launched an unmanned space shuttle, a key step in a program that calls for sending an astronaut into space next fall. The craft, called Shenzhou, or "Godship," successfully orbited the Earth for 14 hours. China's space effort, including a proposed "space city" on the island province of Hainan, would enhance its satellite tracking and long-range rocket capabilities, and Western analysts worry that an improved space program could be used for military purposes. But Beijing's most compelling reason for pursuing manned space flight is to prove its "big-power status." Says John Pike of the Federation of American Scientists: "Putting a man in space with its own rockets visibly demonstrates China has stood up."
Plans to Join an Exclusive Club
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