1: Exclude China from the ISS and co-operative spaceflight technology and advancements just to be a dick
2: Retire your (mediocre) space shuttle program, opting to outsource spaceflight entirely to privately owned space programs
3: China develops a successful domestic space programme in less time with a better build quality, lands on the moon and launches a domestic manned space station
4: Private spaceflight is dodgy, unsafe, overpriced and SEVEN YEARS behind schedule, this stranding your astronauts for 6+ months, with no telling if the 2025 estimate would actually happen because the backup plan to Boeing is Elon Musk’s SpaceX
5: ???
6: Profit(?)
See at this stage, I feel like if the US repealed the amendment, apologized and simply asked China politely, those astronauts could probably be brought back within 2 weeks. But it’s an election year so idk if the Dems want to appear weak on China. Sucks to be a USian astronaut right now.
Can’t a real country like China save them?
No, because NASA needs both FBI and Congressional approval to co-operate with Chinese space programs due to the Wolf Amendment.
Despite Chinese spacecraft being based on the Soyuz and should be compatible with the ISS, China is effectively banned from the ISS.
I hate
so much it’s unreal
1: Exclude China from the ISS and co-operative spaceflight technology and advancements just to be a dick
2: Retire your (mediocre) space shuttle program, opting to outsource spaceflight entirely to privately owned space programs
3: China develops a successful domestic space programme in less time with a better build quality, lands on the moon and launches a domestic manned space station
4: Private spaceflight is dodgy, unsafe, overpriced and SEVEN YEARS behind schedule, this stranding your astronauts for 6+ months, with no telling if the 2025 estimate would actually happen because the backup plan to Boeing is Elon Musk’s SpaceX
5: ???
6: Profit(?)
See at this stage, I feel like if the US repealed the amendment, apologized and simply asked China politely, those astronauts could probably be brought back within 2 weeks. But it’s an election year so idk if the Dems want to appear weak on China. Sucks to be a USian astronaut right now.
One correction: the space shuttle was not just mediocre, it was the worst human spaceflight vehicle of all time
Chinas gonna launch a moom mission just to do a kickflip over the apollo 11 flag on a moon skateboard.
that would be an incredible photo, soaring over that now-sunbleached-totally-white flag with the earthrise in the background