Referring to India’s Mars mission, an editorial in the state owned Global Times daily had come down on the Indian space programme saying that India sent a probe to Mars despite having millions of poor people to gain advantage over China. At about the same time, it made the point that “China has achieved a leap forward in the development of manned space flight and space station technology .It has already been in advance of India”.
…India operates a solitary spaceport at Sriharikota island that is vulnerable to tidal storms brewing in the entrails of Bay of Bengal.
On another front, China is now close to commissioning its fourth advanced space launch complex near to the city of Wenchang on the north eastern coast of the Hainan island.Incidentally, Hainan island happens to be the epicentre of a massive Chinese naval build up. The well equipped ultramodern launch complex at Wenchang is capable of launching modules of large space stations, deep space probes as well as heavier class satellites into the geostationary transfer orbit. Moreover, it will be China’s first coastal launch pad that could help China grab an increasing share of the global market for launching satellites for a fee.
According to Chinese space experts, the strategic location of this new launch pad close to the equator would help increase the payload mass of the launch vehicle taking off from here by a substantial extent. All the currently operational three Chinese space launch complexes are landlocked without any access to the sea. In distinct contrast, India operates a solitary spaceport at Sriharikota island that is vulnerable to tidal storms brewing in the entrails of Bay of Bengal. Of course, there have been talks of building a second launch pad to take care of the expanding launch activities of the Indian space agency. Operating more than one launch complex makes immense strategic sense especially during the moments of crisis and emergency.
Lunar exploration is an area where China is definitely ahead of India. In 2014, China successfully pulled off a space spectacular, with the flawless return to earth of a moon probe after completing its eight day long flight designed to test technology for a future lunar sample project. This lunar mission officially named Chang’e-5 T1 was launched by means of a Long March 3C rocket. It is for the first time that China has carried out a test involving an orbiter around the moon before having the spacecraft return to earth. This mission is a precursor to the full fledged lunar sample return mission slated for 2017.
China’s rapidly expanding space programme has the potential to alter the power dynamics in much of Asia and adversely affect US defence forces untrammelled hold on the region.
Incidentally, China initiated its lunar exploration programme in 2007 with the successful launch of a lunar orbiter mission named Chang’e-1. This was followed by another lunar orbiter mission named Chang’e-2 put into orbit in 2010.And in December 2013, China hoisted into space its first ever lunar rover landing mission Chang’e3.In distinct contrast, India has to its credit a solitary moon mission, the Chandraaayaan-1 orbiter launched in October.2008. And everything going as planned India’s second probe to moon Chandrayaan-2 will be launched in 2017 atop GSLV. Like Chang’e-3, Chandrayaan-2 will carry a home grown rover for soft-landing on lunar surface. Though India has hinted at a lunar sample return mission, there is no specific project as yet for realizing this mission.
The defence oriented thrust of the Chinese space programme was clearly demonstrated by the anti satellite test carried out in early 2007. In a brazen move to build up the capability for a full fledged space war China deployed a ground based medium range ballistic missile to hit and destroy an aging weather watch satellite stationed in the medium earth orbit. It is also an open secret that China is concentrating on developing beam weapons based on laser devices which can serve as an anti-satellite weapon while acting as a substitute for the missiles.
China overtaking both US and Russia in the race for the final frontiers in the none too distant a future is a possibility that cannot be wished away.
Against this backdrop, China’s rapidly expanding space programme has the potential to alter the power dynamics in much of Asia and adversely affect US defence forces untrammelled hold on the region. Both India and China are officially committed to the peaceful uses of outer space.
In distinct contrast India which is committed to the peaceful uses of outer space has problems developing space based weapons to counter the possible Chinese threat to Indian space assets in the future. Of course, it well within the capability of India to develop and deploy anti satellite devices. It is high time that ISRO along with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) gets a clear mandate to launch a comprehensive space weaponization programme.
At the end of the day, China happens to be the only space power that has an active, on-going programme to sustains human space exploration with both USA and Russia failing to unveil any firm programme for manned space exploration. A White Paper on China’s national space programme spells out priorities including the development of three generations of heavy lift launch vehicles, mitigating the problem of space debris and expanding the scope of lunar exploration.
China overtaking both US and Russia in the race for the final frontiers in the none too distant a future is a possibility that cannot be wished away. For Chinese political leadership is not only keen to position this most populous nation as the No one economy but also as a global space supremo.
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