Outwardly, it looked like just another big space launch – and those happen about once a week, from spaceports all around the world. But Friday’s blast-off of a rocket, carrying a Chinese GPS-style navigation satellite, from the Xi Chang Satellite Launch Center was different. It set a record for successful Chinese launches in one year: 15. The launch represented another important milestone. For the first time since the chilliest days of the Cold War, another country has matched the U.S. in sheer number of rocket launches.
To some observers, the rapid acceleration of the Chinese space program is perfectly reasonable, even expected. With nearly 20 percent of the world’s population and the planet’s second-biggest economy by some measures, it stands to reason that China would join other advanced, spacefaring nations — and on a grander scale. But more cautious (or alarmist, depending on your point of view) China-watchers question Beijing’s motives … and warn of potentially dire consequences if China comes to dominate the heavens.
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