China is developing space capabilities twice as fast as the United States: “We must go beyond the imagination of Musk and Bezos”

China could overtake the United States in space flights by the end of the decade.

This weekend a panel of American space experts spoke at Reagan National Defense Forum in the United States. General David Thompson, Vice President of US Space Operations space forceAt the summit, he warned that China was developing its space capabilities “two times faster” than the United States.

Since 2003, China definitely has Seven manned missions into space, with a total of 14 astronauts on board. In addition, two of these crews flew twice. In October, China brought three astronauts (Chinese astronauts) to the Tiangong Space Station on the Shenzhou 13 mission.

“The fact that they are essentially building, developing and modernizing their resources two times faster than we do means that they will outpace us very quickly if we do not accelerate our development and delivery capabilities,” the general said on Saturday. According to him, it is not inconceivable that China “by 2030” will surpass the United States in terms of slaughter power in space.

Liam Gibson, a Taiwan-based geopolitical analyst, wrote on Monday opinion article In Japanese newspapers Nikki Asia The United States will also have to develop its own “Sputnik Moments” to win the race with China on new (space) technologies.

Beyond Imagination, Musk’s Wallet and Bezos

Also on the committee was Jim Cooper, a Democrat in the House of Representatives. It oversees, among other things, the US budget space forces.

Cooper said Saturday that US space developments are “not moving fast enough” to keep pace with the private sector. “To really get ahead, we have to go beyond the imaginations of Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, and beyond their wallets,” Cooper said.

According to the politician, the space forces Currently with an annual budget of $17 billion. “That’s a lot of money,” Cooper asked, “but is it enough to consider how important space is?”

Satellite monitoring is still the experience of the United States

According to Cooper, space forces They should be more typical of the example of the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This is an American agency responsible for monitoring via satellite satellites and passing important information to different parts of the authorities.

“NRO is not as well known as other agencies, but they are doing a great job. I recently had a meeting with NRO and my conclusion was ‘Thank God for NRO’. I am eagerly waiting for the day when I can say this about space force‘ Cooper concluded.

(MAh)