What are the implications of China’s latest spacewalk?

On September 25, 2008, China’s Shenzhou 7 space module took off from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia and two days later, on the afternoon of the 27th, Zhai Zhigang made history by becoming the first Chinese man to perform a spacewalk and the first human being to wave a miniature Chinese flag in space. China is now the third country, after the Soviet Union and the United States, to perform an extra-vehicular activity. Today, with the taikonauts back safe and sound, gilded replicas of the Shenzhou 7 are being sold in the Xidan bookstore.

What are the implications of China’s space program and the latest spacewalk? Is it a waste of money or the start of a new space race? Here are our thoughts.

Why is China Focused on Winning Gold Medals?

In a new column here at The Hypermodern we pose a question and have our writers offer their disparate opinions on the issue. Of course we welcome opinions from our readers as well. This first question comes from the results of the Olympics and China’s dominant number of gold medals. But why the emphasis on bringing home the gold? Here are our thoughts, in no particular order.