Summary of the World Space Progress in Recent Years 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of China Aerospace, the 45th anniversary of the first human space flight and the 25th anniversary of the first flight test of the space shuttle. In this year, the world's space technology and industry continued to make new progress, manned space flight and space exploration projects progressed smoothly, military, civil and commercial satellite launch activities increased compared with previous years, space investment of various countries continued to increase, and a new round of international space competition was taking shape. China's space industry has developed rapidly and become a powerful competitor attracting worldwide attention. The United States continues to lead the new space trend in the world. Russia is trying to revive its former space glory. Europe, Japan and India are all striving to enhance their space capabilities. Space technology continues to spread rapidly all over the world. More and more countries and even private enterprises are involved in the space field, and international space cooperation presents a new trend. 1. A new round of international space competition is becoming increasingly clear. Space technology and its industry have always been the strategic commanding heights of fierce competition among world powers. Due to the increasing influence of space flight on politics, military affairs, diplomacy, economy, science and technology and many other fields, in the six years of 2 1 century, major space powers and some emerging developing countries have taken the development of space technology as a strategic measure to enhance their comprehensive national strength and international status. The United States, Europe, Russia, Japan, China and India have all formulated a series of ambitious long-term space development strategies, plans or policies. Among them, in 2006, US President Bush issued a new national space policy, China issued a white paper on China's space in 2006, and the Russian space development plan for 2006-2015. The Indian Ministry of Space has applied to the government for approval of the manned space program, and plans to invest 4.4 billion US dollars in the first manned flight in 20 14, and plans to achieve manned landing on the moon in 2020; Japan is formulating the basic law of the universe, trying to relax the restrictions on the military use of space and abandon the policy of peaceful use of space that has been limited to "non-military" purposes since 1969. After the downturn of 10 years after the end of the cold war, the space investment of various countries has re-entered the track of rapid growth. In 2006, the space investment of the above-mentioned countries continued to increase to varying degrees, with frequent space launch activities, more and more large government orders and contracts for the space industry, and the scale of space activities in the military, civil and commercial fields continued to expand, indicating that a new round of international space competition pattern is taking shape. However, the new round of international space competition is fundamentally different from the space hegemony of the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. First of all, it is not the space competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, but reflects the space competition among many great powers in the process of the formation of a multipolar world: the United States should strive to maintain the leading position in world space; Europe tries to integrate all European resources, gain strategic independence and stronger international competitiveness in important fields such as aerospace manufacturing, launch services, global navigation and remote sensing satellites, and space exploration, so as to get rid of its dependence on the United States; Russia is trying to revive its past space glory, maintain the world advanced level in various key fields such as manned space flight, unmanned space exploration, space manufacturing and launch services, and military and civilian satellite technology, and expand Russia's market share in the world; Japan, China and India are striving to be among the world's space powers or space powers while competing for the status of space powers in Asia. In addition to the international space competition of the above-mentioned space powers at different levels, there are also some emerging developing countries and regions, such as South Korea, Pakistan, Thailand, Iran and Taiwan Province Province in Asia, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela in South America, South Africa, Nigeria and Israel in Africa and the Middle East, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan in CIS countries, etc. This has also increased their space investment, trained talents and accumulated strength. Through different forms of cooperation with the United States, Europe, Russian Federation, China, Indian and other countries, we will strive to develop reconnaissance communication satellites or scientific satellites for both military and civilian use, develop our own space technology and industry, enhance our own military, scientific and technological and economic strength, and enhance our international status and influence in the region. 2. In 2006, countries continued to increase their investment in space, and their space budgets increased by nearly 1 times during the period of 10. In 2006, major space-faring countries such as the United States, Europe, Japan, Russia and India continued to increase their space budgets in the military and civilian fields, with a total investment estimated at over 50 billion US dollars. Among them, the military and civil space budget of the United States in 2006 was about $37.5 billion, the total investment of the European Space Agency, the European Union and its member States was about $7.5 billion, Japan was about $2.6 billion, Russia was about $654.38+0.5 billion, and India was about $900 million. Compared with the total investment of $33.5 billion in 1 97, the total investment of major spacefaring countries increased by 165 billion during 10, an increase of nearly1times. The United States has promulgated a new space policy. On August 3rd, 20061day, US President Bush promulgated a new national space policy to replace the space policy promulgated by President Clinton in September 1996. This new policy is not only a continuation of the old policy, but also a policy amendment to the major changes at home and abroad (especially the war on terrorism) since 10. This new policy introduced by President Bush is more rational and pragmatic than the old policy, and the expression of sensitive topics such as space control is relatively principled and vague, leaving a lot of room, but the expression of "sovereignty" and "rights" is more accurate. For example, in the space policy of 1996, it is claimed that "intentional interference and attack on American space system is an infringement of American sovereignty", but the new policy is changed to "intentional interference with American space system is an infringement of American rights". There are both macro policies and micro-specific policies; It not only maintains the continuity and consistency with the policy of 1996, but also responds to the problems that the world is concerned about or may face in current and future space activities, such as the supply of space nuclear power sources, space debris, spectrum utilization and protection, export policy and international cooperation. However, no major policy changes have been seen on hot issues such as international cooperation and export restrictions on space technology and products. 4. Manned space activities were carried out smoothly, and the development of a new generation of manned spacecraft in the United States was officially launched. In the second half of 2006, the American space shuttle successfully flew three times in a row, which indicated that American manned space activities not only successfully got rid of the shadow of the Columbia space shuttle crash in 2003, but also created favorable conditions for the space shuttle to complete the 65,438+04 flights required for the subsequent assembly project of the International Space Station before retiring in 2065,438+00. Russia also launched several Soyuz manned spacecraft and several Progress cargo spacecraft in 2006. Frequent manned space activities in the United States and Russia have transported more than 20 astronauts (including the world's first self-funded female space tourist) and dozens of tons of fuel, food, water and scientific instruments and equipment to and from the International Space Station. The United States has made important progress in implementing the first step of space exploration and returning to the moon. On August 3rd, 2006, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced the choice of Lockheed? Martin Company is responsible for designing, developing and manufacturing a new generation of manned exploration spacecraft (CEV), named Orion, with a total contract value of 8 1 100 million US dollars. Orion manned exploration spacecraft is the key to NASA's space exploration program. It is a new generation of spacecraft, which will replace the space shuttle to and from the International Space Station, carry out manned cargo missions, return to the moon and even explore Mars. It is expected that the first test flight will be carried out on 20 14, and the first moon landing on 20 18. 5. Europe and Russia jointly designed a new generation of manned spacecraft. On July 18, 2006, the Russian Space Agency cancelled the tender for the reusable manned spacecraft of kliper, and announced the suspension of the world-renowned kliper program. Although the development of kliper has been suspended due to lack of funds, Russia has no intention of stopping the development of a new generation of manned spacecraft. At present, Russia has begun to turn to Europe for cooperation and development. According to "Space News" reported on June 26th, 2006, the member governments of the European Space Agency have agreed to jointly design a new generation of advanced crew transport system (ACTS) with Russia for two years. The ACTS spacecraft will be used for the International Space Station, future manned moon landing or other missions. If Europe and Russia can reach a cooperation agreement, Japan also expressed its willingness to participate. The external motive of this cooperation is that the United States refuses its partner countries to participate in the development of Orion spacecraft, while Europe, Russia and Japan are unable to complete the development of a new generation of spacecraft alone. At present, Russia has selected Russian "Energy" Rocket Space Company to participate in the first phase of joint design. This indicates that the design of a new generation of manned spacecraft in cooperation between Europe and Russia is expected to be officially launched. 6. Russia develops a new generation of reusable cargo spacecraft. According to Russian media reports on April 2 1 day, in 2006, Russia's "Energy" Rocket Space Group Corporation is developing a new generation of reusable cargo spacecraft "Ferry" to replace the cargo spacecraft "Progress" that has been used for more than 20 years after 20 13 years to transport materials to the International Space Station or the lunar base. Because the new generation of cargo spacecraft can not only be reused, but also transport 30 tons of cargo in orbit, compared with the existing one-time use of 2.5 tons of cargo capacity, the new generation of "ferry" will greatly improve the transportation capacity and reduce the cost of space transportation. The new generation of cargo spacecraft adopts the design idea of separating cargo from ship: firstly, the empty "ferry" is launched to parking orbit, 200 kilometers above the ground for standby, and then the special "container" with cargo is put into the same orbit by another rocket. After that, the "ferry" uses one of the two ports to dock with the container and ferry it to the designated location such as the International Space Station or the moon. This space shuttle can also load the space station garbage into containers and transport it to low-earth orbit, throw it into the atmosphere and burn it, and wait for the arrival of the next batch of goods in orbit. 7. Space technology continues to spread rapidly all over the world. Space technology is no longer the patent of the United States, Russia, Europe and other big countries. North Korea's missile launch and nuclear test in 2006 shocked the whole world. In recent years, some newly industrialized and developing countries (such as Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Malaysia) and oil-producing countries (such as Nigeria and Venezuela) are actively developing space technology to improve their international status in the region. They have either made important progress in the field of space technology, or are actively making plans, seeking cooperation in developing space technology, or sending astronauts to travel in space. According to incomplete statistics, at least 40 countries and regions around the world have invested in the development of space technology, and some of them are independently developing reconnaissance and communication satellite systems for both military and civilian use. In addition, in the United States and Europe, more and more small and medium-sized private enterprises are investing in the space field that only the government and large space companies can set foot in in the past, and it is nothing new for some universities to develop microsatellites. For example, in September 2006, Russia failed to launch an arrow 18 microsatellite, most of which were developed by universities in the United States, Europe and Russia. 8. International space cooperation presents new trends and features. The International Space Station is the product of the two strategic competitors of the United States and Russia from hegemony to cooperation after the end of the Cold War. This cross-century major cooperation project, led by the United States and Russia, with the participation of Europe, Japan, Canada, Brazil and other 16 partner countries, lasted for 20 years and cost hundreds of billions of dollars. At present, the assembly task has not been completed halfway, and it faces many contradictions and problems such as shrinking scale, reducing the number of people stationed at the station, reassessing the target and its value, and insufficient transportation of people and goods and power supply. So far, all the partner countries involved in the cooperation, especially the big countries such as the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan, have promised to carry this project through to the end and try to get the maximum benefit from it. However, they are also summing up their gains and losses, experiences and lessons in manned space international cooperation and adjusting their future international cooperation models and strategies. At present, there are three main obstacles affecting international cooperation in manned space flight: national honor, national interests and concerns about technology transfer. Therefore, in recent years, especially in 2006, there have been some new trends and new features in the trend of international space cooperation. First of all, the United States politely declined Europe, Japan and other allies to participate in the space exploration plan to return to the moon and land on Mars, saying that it would go it alone. Because the United States is no longer willing to share hundreds of billions of dollars worth of international prestige and scientific and technological innovations with other countries, at least in the foreseeable future, non-American companies are not allowed to participate in the new spacecraft and its vehicles needed for the United States to return to the moon; Secondly, the European Union's international cooperation policy on Galileo navigation satellite program has also changed greatly, from seeking global comprehensive cooperation to limited cooperation aimed at expanding the market, and non-EU countries, including the United States, are not allowed to participate in the research and development and deployment of Galileo satellite system, especially the research and development of key technologies, as well as the bidding for franchise rights and its future management. The above examples show that the United States and Europe are more and more conservative and cautious about international space cooperation. In the next 10 year, large-scale international space cooperation projects such as the International Space Station (such as manned landing on the moon or Mars) will not appear again; There can be no real international cooperation in major space projects (such as navigation satellites) involving national security and national interests. However, due to the shortage of funds, Russia still has technical strength and may be more willing to seek international cooperation to achieve its major space goals. Europe, Japan, India and China may turn to Russia to carry out bilateral or multilateral short-term phased cooperation focusing on exploring the moon or Mars. The future is more of another kind of multilateral and bilateral space cooperation with strong commercial or political diplomacy. For example, the International Earth Observation Organization (GEO), in which more than 60 countries participate, and various small-scale and single-item international cooperation such as the United States and Japan, the United States and India, the United States and South Korea, the United States and Taiwan (Bay), China and Russia, and Europe and Russia.
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