The United States of America has been caught napping

The USA, the nation famous for landing a man on the Moon has been caught out again, this time by China.

7th October 2010

On the 1st October the BBC reported that China had launched a Long March 3C rocket with a probe called Chang'e-2 from Xichang at about 1100 GMT. The probe Chang'e-2 is destined for the Moon where it will orbit our only natural satellite collecting data necessary for a planned Chinese Luna rover mission. Chang'e-2 is China's second lunar probe. The first probe was launched in 2007.

Photo 1: The Moon, Credit jimntonik.

As a young man brought up on a staple diet of science fiction television and movies notably Star Trek I do feel very remiss like my father that we have not done more after humans last departed the Moon on the 14th December 1972 at 17:54 EST. Since the return of Apollo 17 astronauts have not travelled further than low earth orbit on Space Shuttle missions or expeditions to the International Space Station.

Presently space flight is only reported on if the astronauts are experiencing problems such as when the toilet breaks down or as part of the continued countdown to the decommissioning of the Space Shuttle fleet. To date NASA has no replacement ready for the elderly Space Shuttle. This means when NASA retires the Space Shuttle they shall be completely reliant on Russia's Soviet era Soyuz launch vehicles for transporting their astronauts to the International Space Station.

The Americans are now reliant on the Russians after President Barack Obama cancelled the project intended to take humans back to the Moon. The Constellation programme was intended to design new rockets to launch men and equipment neccessary to return man to the Moon. Bush administration had intended to commit NASA to the construction of a new crewship called Orion to put astronauts on the lunar surface by 2020.

The project was killed off in February by the Obama administration because the project was seen as too costly and an frivolous expenses while the nation has economic troubles. Mr Obama said the project was too costly, "behind schedule, and lacking in innovation". By that time NASA had already spent $9bn (£5.6bn) on the programme. This I find odd because projects such as building new rockets for Moon missions could galvanise a nation to unite them around a common goal and cause creating jobs in manufacturing and supporting industries to create the next generation of rockets to propel humans back in the cosmos to the Moon on route to the greater prize, Mars.

However the position now requires the Americans to hitch a ride with the Russians. In comparison the Russian Soyuz launcher was introduced in 1966, deriving from the Vostok rocket family designed to propel nuclear weapons at the West during the Cold War. The Soyuz rocket has the prestigious accolade of being the most frequently used and most reliable launch vehicle in the world.

Photo 2: Russian Soyuz rocket, Credit nasahqphoto.

The production of Soyuz launchers reached a peak of 60 per year in the early 1980s. It has become the world's most used space vehicle, flying over 1700 times, far more than any other rocket. It is a very old basic design, but is notable for low cost and very high reliability, both of which appeal to commercial clients.

What I find amusing and really compounds my belief that history is less of a continual line which marches onwards but is instead cyclic. The United States has been in a similar position before. The Space Race was kicked of my one major event which alert the Americans to the very simple and true fact they were hopelessly of the pace.

The event I alluded to was on the 4th October 1957 when the Soviet Union launched the successfully placed the first man made satellite Sputnik into an elliptical low Earth orbit. The United States had believed itself to be the world leader in space technology and thus the leader in missile development. The surprise of the Sputnik launch ignited the Space Race. Russia however went on to notch up may more firsts including the all important first human-being in space, Yuri Gagarin.

It is my belief that America has most certainly forgot the knowledge they pioneered to land a man successfully on the Moon. I believe it will require another massive public embarrassment like Sputnik in the 1950's to catapult space travel and exploration into the public consciousness of the American people.

I think it is will not be the successful landing of a Chinese rover on the service of the Moon that starts the next space race. I instead think it will be the landing of a Chinese Apollo style Lunar Excursion Module and Chinese Moon walks. If China was to plant their flag on the face of the Moon it would cause a fantastic national embarrassment in Washington. Only when this event is broadcast in crystal clear high definition video for billions of people to witness across the globe will American again see the necessity of space exploration.

Until the United States experiences another Pearl Harbour calibre event in space exploration I don't believe the current administration will see the value and necessity for human space flight to push back the boundaries of engineering, exploration and science.

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