Last week China announced that it will launch several new space projects between 2014 and 2016 at the inaugural ceremony of the 28th general assembly of the International Astronomical Union. Senior Chinese astronomer, Su Dingqiang said one project will be a hard X-ray telescope for studying black holes.
China has stationed a telescope in Antarctica where temperatures mimic those in outer space. Chinese scientists can only go there once a year and stay in Antarctica for three weeks at a time. China’s first Antarctic telescope was installed in 2009.
Su, a former president of the Chinese Astronomical Society who is now associated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also stated that China will develop a satellite designated as the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE) to detect high energy electrons as well as another telescope to study the solar magnetic field.
China is making great progress in its space program. This video shows China’s most recent activities in space.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH9CtvnwqIQ?rel=0]
Video credit: spacevidcast
China’s space program history in a nutshell.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1GpipVQka8?rel=0]
Video credit: Centrist Crusader
So does this mean that China’s space program is a threat to the US? This discussion by TechAmerica’s Space Enterprise Council and the George Marshall Institute examines the situation closely.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TNoR8pKYVE?rel=0]
Video credit: TechAmerica
