There are 7 Nations Launching the Next Space Race. Our generation is the first to commence in the dominance for planet and space colonialism. Just imagine MARS. Who will own it and who will reach there first.
North Korea is launching their first satellite. Iran launched theirs last month February 09. India’s space agency recently got the green light to send people into space, and China’s announced plans to build a space station. We are going and it is starting NOW! Here’s seven countries that have their sights on orbit and the capabilities to get there.
China
February 09 France signed on for a sat launch on a Chinese Long March rocket. The deal circumvents U.S. restrictions on Chinese commercial launches by using a satellite made without American parts. It should boost China’s economic clout by setting an important precedent in the lucrative commercial-launch market.
China continues to send taikonauts to orbit aboard its Shenzhou spaceship and has just announced plans to build a space station. Is a manned moon landing next?
North Korea
North Korea says it plans to launch its Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite on a rocket dubbed Unha-2 any day now. The Koreans and Iranians have been sharing rocket technology, and their programs have progressed at similar rates.
India
Last month, India’s Planning Commission signed off on a proposed two-person manned spaceship to be launched by 2015 on an existing satellite launcher. The plan follows last year’s successful launch of the Chandrayaan 1 lunar orbiter that dropped a smaller probe to crash-land the Indian flag on the lunar surface. The agency also plans to build and launch a Mars probe in the near future.
Iran
On February 3, the Iranian government unveiled a space launch center and launched a satellite called Omid, or Hope, into orbit on a Safir 2 rocket. “With this launch, the Islamic Republic of Iran has officially achieved a presence in space,” President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced to the WORLD.
Japan
Japan wants to recover its reputation in the space-launch business–tarnished with the 2003 failure of its H-2A rocket–with the new H-2B. The bigger, more powerful rocket should enable the launch of multiple satellites simultaneously, thereby making Japan more competitive in the sat launch business.
United States
While waiting on the new NASA leader, the United States continues its focus on the moon—with Martian aspirations—with its technically troubled Constellation system. After the space shuttle retires in 2010, NASA will find itself without a manned spaceflight capability until Constellation is completed–as early as 2015.
Europe
The European Space Agency has watched the rest of the space see the WORLD pour money into manned spaceflight and exploratory missions while focusing on lower-cost satellite launches. But plans to convert its Automated Transfer Vehicle from a space cargo container into a manned spaceship—unveiled last year—could make Europe the fourth world power to develop manned spaceflight capability, if it so desires.
Russia
Six private cosmonauts have paid tens of millions of dollars each for rides on Russian Soyuz ships, and the demand is now so great that the Russian space agency plans to launch the first mission dedicated to paying passengers next year. Russia seems to have found its niche, serving the emerging commercial spaceflight industry—including selling rides to NASA’s astronauts. It has even approved plans to send a manned commercial mission to the moon–if only two passengers will step up with $100 million each for tickets.
Source-Popular Mechanics
