Abstract
For mankind, space exploration has always been a mix of curiosity, utility and profitability. Any ambitious space plan mostly becomes successful provided trained manpower, technology support and adequate funding is available. Societal, scientific and educational requirements have been the key focus for the Asian investments in space arena. They seek space capabilities mainly to achieve developmental goals. At the same time, since the involution of their space programmes, few Asian states have dreamed big like sending manned missions to space.
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Notes
- 1.
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/wang-t.html, accessed on Aug 7, 2011.
- 2.
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/al-saud.html, accessed on Aug 7, 2011.
- 3.
http://www.astronomytoday.com/astronomy/interview10.html, accessed on Aug 7, 2011.
- 4.
- 5.
The significant portion of information mentioned in these four paragraphs about Japan is based on Brian Harvey, Henk Smid, Theo Pirard, Emerging Space Powers, Springer/Praxis, Christine, 2010, pp.101–129.
- 6.
“Japan’s Hope in Space”, Highlighting Japan through articles, pp.8–9, http://www.gov-online.go.jp/pdf/hlj_ar/vol_0027e/08-09.pdf, accessed on Aug 9, 2011.
- 7.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/jem.html, accessed on Aug 4, 2011.
- 8.
Incidentally, the space laboratory on ISS known as Kibo also means HOPE.
- 9.
http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=26143.0, Project Gemini was the second human space flight programme of NASA. This programme was an intermediate step between Mercury and Apollo programme. During mid-1960s, it carried out ten successful manned space missions. http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/gemini/gemini-overview.htm
- 10.
- 11.
Pan Zhenqiang, ‘Shenzhou VI and China’s Space Flight’, Foreign Affairs Journal(78), 2005, pp. 53–54 and http://www.astronautix.com/craft/shenzhou.htm. However, there appears to be certain delay in this regard.
- 12.
‘The Significance and Implications of Tiangong I’, http://www.idsa.in/idsacomments/TheSignificanceandImplicationsofTiangong_alele_071011, accessed on Nov 22, 2011.
- 13.
- 14.
The 8-ton China space station is very small in size in comparison earlier attempts by few other states. In 1973, the US Skylab was launched weighing 80 tons. Russia’s Mir space station (1986–2001) was a 22-ton core module. The ISS is 450 ton. However, it is important to note that Tiangong-1is more of an excremental station, and China’s proposed station is likely to weigh 60–70 ton.
- 15.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-11/18/content_14115516.htm, accessed on Nov 22, 2011.
- 16.
http://www.space.com/16170-china-launches-1st-female-astronaut-shenzhou-9.html, accessed on Sep 20, 2012.
- 17.
- 18.
RLV is about developing a launch system which can visit space many times. Space shuttle comes close to this concept.
- 19.
These hypersonic aircrafts are designed to achieve orbital height and velocity in a single stage from a runway takeoff.
- 20.
This is being developed by India’s defence research organisation DRDO jointly with ISRO. One vehicle is expected to last for 100 launches and should carry a payload of 50–1,000 kg. For more, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Shuttle_Program, accessed on Jul 12, 2011.
- 21.
From the unpublished work by Keith Gottschalk and Raghavan Gopalaswami titled ‘Even India’: The Birth of Tomorrow’s RLV. It may be noted that Air Commodore (Retd) Raghavan Gopalaswami was the project leader of Avatar project and is also created to have coined the name. Also, refer author’s discussions with Raghavan Gopalaswami.
- 22.
http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/sre-1.htm, accessed on Jul 12, 2011.
- 23.
- 24.
- 25.
The entire above information on RLV-TD project is based on “Reusable Launch Vehicle - Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD)”, http://knol.google.com/k/reusable-launch-vehicle-technology-demonstrator-rlv-td#, accessed on Aug 27, 2011 and http://www.isro.org/scripts/futureprogramme.aspx, accessed on Aug 16, 2011.
- 26.
“ISRO starts work on man mission”, Mar 1, 2010, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/ISRO+starts+work+on+'man+mission'/1/86202.html, accessed on Aug 14, 2011.
- 27.
http://www.isro.org/scripts/futureprogramme.aspx, accessed on Aug 14, 2011.
- 28.
- 29.
An unmanned Russian cargo ship (Progress 44) carrying tons of supplies for astronauts on the International Space Station crashed back to Earth on Aug 24, 2011. This could even lead to the astronauts temporarily abandoning the ISS in future.
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Lele, A. (2013). Space Shuttle and Space Station. In: Asian Space Race: Rhetoric or Reality?. Springer, India. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-0733-7_14
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