What Is the Importance of China's New Space Station?
2021-06-25
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1Three Chinese astronauts recently arrived at the country's new space station in another step forward for the growing space power.
2Here is a look at some of the space station's major goals.
3The three-member crew will stay for three months in the station's main living space, called a module.
4The module is named Tianhe, which means "Harmony of the Heavens" in Chinese.
5The astronauts will carry out science experiments and perform maintenance.
6They also plan to complete space walks and prepare the station to receive two other modules next year.
7While China admits it arrived late to the space station game, it says its new station is modern and includes the latest space technology.
8Tianhe might even outlast the International Space Station (ISS), which is nearing the end of its operational lifespan.
9The recent launch brought back China's crewed space program after a five-year break.
10China has now sent 14 astronauts into space since its first launch in 2003.
11It is the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to do so.
12As its economy experienced growth in the 1990s, China made a plan for space exploration.
13Since then, it has attempted to carry out this plan carefully and evenly.
14China was barred from joining the ISS.
15This was mainly over U.S. objections to the Chinese program's secretive nature and close military connections.
16It is likely, however, that China would have built its own station anyway because of its goal to become a major space power.
17Ji Qiming is the Assistant Director of the China Manned Space Agency.
18He recently told reporters that the building and operation of the space station will raise the level of Chinese technologies.
19He also said it will "accumulate experience for all the people."
20The space program is part of an overall drive to help China take on even larger projects.
21China also wants to expand cooperation with Russia and other, mostly European, countries along with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.
22China's space program has been a large part of its national pride.
23It represents the country's rise from a poor nation to become the world's second-largest economy in the last 40 years.
24This has helped the government strengthen support for the country's ruling Communist Party.
25The party's authoritarian rule and severe limits on political activity have been accepted by most Chinese citizens as long as the economy is growing.
26China's President and head of the party, Xi Jinping, has linked himself to the latest space progress.
27In his recent comments, Ji gave credit to Xi for setting China's rise in space as a goal for the country.
28As China continues to develop its space program, it is also quickly modernizing its military.
29This has raised concerns among some of its neighbors, as well as the U.S. and its NATO allies.
30China has said it supports the peaceful development of space.
31But in 2007, some countries expressed concern when the country sent a missile into space to destroy an inactive weather satellite.
32The event created a field of debris that put other space objects at risk.
33I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Three Chinese astronauts recently arrived at the country's new space station in another step forward for the growing space power. 2Here is a look at some of the space station's major goals. 3What is the trip's purpose? 4The three-member crew will stay for three months in the station's main living space, called a module. The module is named Tianhe, which means "Harmony of the Heavens" in Chinese. The astronauts will carry out science experiments and perform maintenance. They also plan to complete space walks and prepare the station to receive two other modules next year. 5While China admits it arrived late to the space station game, it says its new station is modern and includes the latest space technology. Tianhe might even outlast the International Space Station (ISS), which is nearing the end of its operational lifespan. 6The recent launch brought back China's crewed space program after a five-year break. China has now sent 14 astronauts into space since its first launch in 2003. It is the third country after the former Soviet Union and the United States to do so. 7Why is it building the station? 8As its economy experienced growth in the 1990s, China made a plan for space exploration. Since then, it has attempted to carry out this plan carefully and evenly. 9China was barred from joining the ISS. This was mainly over U.S. objections to the Chinese program's secretive nature and close military connections. It is likely, however, that China would have built its own station anyway because of its goal to become a major space power. 10Ji Qiming is the Assistant Director of the China Manned Space Agency. He recently told reporters that the building and operation of the space station will raise the level of Chinese technologies. He also said it will "accumulate experience for all the people." 11The space program is part of an overall drive to help China take on even larger projects. China also wants to expand cooperation with Russia and other, mostly European, countries along with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. 12Politics and security 13China's space program has been a large part of its national pride. It represents the country's rise from a poor nation to become the world's second-largest economy in the last 40 years. 14This has helped the government strengthen support for the country's ruling Communist Party. The party's authoritarian rule and severe limits on political activity have been accepted by most Chinese citizens as long as the economy is growing. 15China's President and head of the party, Xi Jinping, has linked himself to the latest space progress. In his recent comments, Ji gave credit to Xi for setting China's rise in space as a goal for the country. 16As China continues to develop its space program, it is also quickly modernizing its military. This has raised concerns among some of its neighbors, as well as the U.S. and its NATO allies. 17China has said it supports the peaceful development of space. But in 2007, some countries expressed concern when the country sent a missile into space to destroy an inactive weather satellite. The event created a field of debris that put other space objects at risk. 18I'm Gregory Stachel. 19Sam McNeil reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 20__________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22maintenance - n. work that is done to keep something in good condition 23accumulate - v. to gather or acquire (something) gradually as time passes 24pride - n. a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people 25authoritarian - adj. expecting or requiring people to obey rules or laws : not allowing personal freedom 26debris - n. broken pieces of something