China Space Station – is it worth it?

Chinese Space Station – is it worth the effort?

In April 2020, one of the most significant events for Chinese astronautics should take place – the launch of China’s first multimodular space station. The idea of creating its own large orbital station dates back to the late 1980s. Chinese Space Station (CSS) should become the “crowning glory” of China’s entire manned program over the past 30 years. The total cost of building the CSS is estimated at $13 billion. For comparison, the whole budget of NASA in 2018 was $20.6 billion, ESA – $7.43 billion, and Roscosmos – $2.1 billion. Why is the Chinese government financing such a large-scale program and what is it trying to achieve?

Soviet case

Often, when studying China’s space orbital stations, parallels are drawn with Soviet space stations: Tiangong is compared with the Salyut station, and CSS is compared with the first multimodular Mir station. In this article we suggest considering the experience of the USSR, for which the construction of orbital stations has become a “business card”. By the time the ISS appeared in the late 1990s, only ten space complexes had been built. Of these, only one station was launched by the United States, the other nine were Soviet.

The main driver to create orbital stations was not only the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, but also the military rivalry. In the mid-1960s, the US actively developed the first manned station, which was to serve primarily national security purposes. To keep up in this area, the USSR Ministry of Defense initiated the “Almaz” program. It included the creation of a manned military complex with folding optics, surveillance equipment, an electromechanical stabilization system and a camera with a focal length of 10 meters. The narrowband antenna was to transmit the received footage to Earth via a closed TV channel.

Another impetus for the development of orbital stations in the USSR was the defeat in the lunar race, after Apollo 11 had landed on the Moon. Great success in the construction of manned stations allowed the Soviet aerospace industry to take revenge and restore the prestige of the Soviet Union.

Space stations served peaceful purposes as well. The founders of cosmonautics saw orbital spacecraft as shipyards, scientific laboratories, observatories and factories. The stations were to become a temporary outpost for a man on his way to deep space exploration. Even the military program “Almaz” – «Salyut-2 “, “Salyut-3” and “Salyut-5” – in addition to the main functions also solved civil problems, such as observation of water reservoirs and various natural phenomena, study of the impact of weightlessness and cosmic radiation on human health.

Chinese space dream

In the late 1980s, discussions on whether China needs to develop its own manned programmes did not go beyond the space industry and academia. During those years, China’s economy was just gaining momentum, and the government’s main priorities were not about space programmes but how to fight hunger and unemployment. China did not have the technical competence, industrial capacity and financial capability that the USSR had during the Cold War. Therefore, none of China’s party leaders wanted to take responsibility for a large-scale space project.

The situation changed in 1990. That year, American troops defeated Saddam Hussein’s armies in the first Gulf War. The Chinese military noticed that space technologies made a significant contribution to the victory of the US armed forces. A year later, China’s Central Military Commission, through its influence in the highest circles of the Communist Party, was able to promote the decision to start the Chinese space program.

The second incentive, the same as for the USSR, was the country’s political prestige. At the meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in September 1992, Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng explained that the manned space program is not just a large-scale engineering project, but a political decision, a matter of national pride. Once China was the most civilized and developed state on Earth. President Xi Jinping has repeatedly pointed out that “the dream of flying into space is an important part of realizing the Chinese people’s strong dream of national revival.

One should not forget about the contribution of Chinese space stations to the development of science.  According to Chinese terminology, the first two Tiangong-1 and Tiangong-2 are called not just stations, but “space laboratories” (Chinese: 空间实验室). In addition to Earth sensing equipment, the “laboratories” also had on board a high-precision cold atomic clock, gamma radiation detector, medical equipment, and devices for observing plant development in space. 

In addition, the development of orbital stations has helped to stimulate growth in related industries such as metallurgy, engineering and energy. The development of manned space even helps to address domestic policy issues. Chinese taikonauts are very popular throughout the country, so their visits to remote or unstable regions help unite China’s multinational population. However, the main motives for developing manned space programs are the prospect of military superiority, increasing the prestige of the state and developing science.

A space station as a “soft power” instrument

Above, we have considered the main reasons why the construction of single-module orbital stations may be appropriate. Does the situation change when multi-module spacecraft such as the Mir station, ISS and CSS appear?

Multimodularity gives several additional advantages at once: increase in capacity, increase in lifetime, and expansion of station functionality. Multi-module spacecraft attract more human resources, which allows using them as a platform for international cooperation. The Soviet “Mir” station has been visited by cosmonauts from France, Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Austria, Canada, Slovakia, Syria, Bulgaria and Afghanistan during its operation. 44 American astronauts visited the Russian station “Mir” as part of the “Mir – Shuttle” program. It was a big step forward to improve the relations between Russia and the USA. Not to mention the fact that the construction of the multi-module ISS is recognized as the largest international project in history.

China’s geopolitical ambitions also prevent it from staying away. Brian Harvey, in his book China in Space: Great Leap Forward, mentions talking with Chinese scientists who noted that “China’s participation in the ISS would be a much more favorable scenario than building its own station. However, after the US denied the access to the ISS for the Chinese taikonauts, the CPC leadership’s decision to build their own orbital stations happened to be forced, for the most part.

Now when China’s large space station project is already in its final stages, the Chinese government intends to use it as a diplomatic tool. In May 2018, China announced that all UN member states will be able to cooperate in order to jointly use the future station. The European Space Agency has already started to consider coordinating with China. The final decision to extend the lifespan of the ISS has not yet been taken. Therefore, some countries that are interested in continuing research in low-Earth orbit will consider the Chinese station as an alternative to the ISS. Thus, a multi-module CSS will bring China even closer to being not only a space power, but also a world superpower.

Conclusions

Based on the experience of the USSR and China, the main reasons why space leaders and countries that claim to become ones invest huge amounts of money in the construction of space stations can be identified. Once again, let us list and prioritize them:

1. Military advantage is a practice-oriented goal, which is aimed at ensuring national security. As a rule, it serves as an impetus to start developing manned programs.
2. Prestige and political influence is an important goal, its effect is quite obvious, although it is hard to estimate in quantitative terms. It allows politicians to gain the support of the population and strengthen the position of the state on the world arena.
3. Progress in science and technology is a long-term goal that allows significant breakthroughs in many fields of science, from basic physics and astronomy to medicine and information technology. Very often, technological developments that were initially applied in a space station are later applied in other fields.
4. The platform for international cooperation is an even more long-term goal, which allows for more effective implementation of the state’s foreign policy. To achieve this goal, a more advanced level of development of manned programs is required, at a minimum, the existence of its own multi-module station.

These are the reasons why the USSR actively developed its orbital complexes 40 years ago, and why the Chinese government seeks to create its own multi-module space station nowadays. Despite the fact that this project requires huge capital investments and does not provide for any economic payback, it enjoys the status of national importance, as it solves the main task – to turn China into a world superpower. This cannot be quantified or estimated from economical point of view. The decision to build a large space station is political only.

This article Written by Denis Kalinin originally prepared for https://www.facebook.com/RuSpaceLive/ and reposted with permission.