What is China up to -- up there?

Anxiety over what China may or may not do in space ebbs and flows, depending on what headlines we see. China is a very old society and has a rich history of contributing to the progress of the inhabitants of earth. For example, according to About.com, the history of Chinese inventions is an admirable one. Learn there about "the kite, chopsticks, umbrellas, gunpowder, firecrackers, the steelyard, abacus, cloisonné, ceramics, papermaking and more." Clearly China is not willing to leave themselves out of the space realm.
Recently they launched a tiny satellite that will be orbiting the moon and returning information about it to earth. To quote from China Daily Updated: 2007-10-23:

HEADLINE 1 -- 1st moon orbiter likely to be invisible to amateur astronomers

BEIJING -- The chance for amateur astronomy buffs to observe China's first moon orbiter, likely to be launched on Wednesday, is very slim, Chinese space experts said on Tuesday.

The circumlunar satellite, named Chang'e I, is very tiny in open space as it is only 18.1 meters long even when its solar energy board is fully extended, said Sun Zezhou, deputy chief designer of the satellite.

The satellite is very much likely to be invisible since it is neither illuminated nor covered with a special surface to reflect light, he said.

. . . The satellite will relay the first picture of the moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the moon for a year.

HEADLINE 2 -- China to Build New Space Rockets, reports HappyNews.com. To quote from the piece:

China will build a new family of rockets, state media said Wednesday, a move that would boost the country's capabilities to put satellites and space stations in space.
. . . They signal China's ambitions to have a greater presence in space in the next 30 to 50 years and desire to compete in the global market to launch commercial satellites, said the China Daily.
. . . Because of the weight of the rockets, they will be transported by sea, rather than the conventional route overland, the paper said. The new generation of rockets will not be launchable until 2013, the China Daily said.
China's increasing presence is space has worried some. In January, China destroyed a satellite with a land-based anti-satellite missile from its southwestern Xichang spaceport.
The rockets also can be used to launch navigation satellites, which the U.S. military relies on for mapping enemy positions and launching missiles.

The United States does not "own" space any more than the Russians did when they launched Sputnik. The best thing humankind can do is continue the peaceful international use of space; some day that cooperative effort may include China, if they want to come in peace.
Cross-posted at Southwest Blogger
My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about the national intelligence budget.
Technorati tags: space program China rocket science