Heated Space Race Under Way in Asia
Pastor Dale Morgan
Apr 14, 11:53 AM EDT
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Heated Space Race Under Way in Asia*
By ERIC TALMADGE
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO (AP) -- Upstart China challenges the United States by blasting a
satellite out of orbit. North Korea lobs a missile over Japan, prompting
Tokyo to initiate a multibillion dollar spy satellite program. India is
readying a lunar mission, while rival Pakistan makes headlines with a
new, improved warhead.
The most heated space race since the Cold War is under way in Asia,
where countries are concluding that a space program is no longer just an
expensive status symbol but a matter of national security. And they are
scrambling to keep abreast.
China, the only Asian country to put its own astronauts into orbit, is
far ahead.
But India, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan all have satellites in
orbit. North Korea claims to have sent one up with its 1998 ballistic
missile launch and to have used it to broadcast messages from its
leader, Kim Jong Il, though that claim has never been substantiated.
Japan is closest to keeping pace with China.
After a decade of work, Tokyo in February completed a network of four
spy satellites that can monitor any spot on the globe, every day.
Japan's program was spurred by the 1998 North Korean test of a Taepodong
ballistic missile, which flew over its main island and into the Pacific
somewhere off the coast of Alaska. Tokyo now spends about $500 million a
year on its spy satellite program.
Japan, India and China currently have the capability to launch their own
rockets into space, and Pakistan and North Korea have active missile
programs.
Most Asian countries don't have the money to compete in space. But for
those that can afford it, budgets are rising.
In 2000, South Korea broke ground on a $277 million rocket launch site.
It plans, with Russian help, to put a small satellite in orbit next year.
India, meanwhile, is hoping to launch its Chandrayaan-1 moon mission
this year or next. Still, India's technological prowess and $700 million
space budget remain well behind its ambitions. China spends at least
$1.2 billion on space-related projects and the U.S. about $16 billion.