Many folks would like to see us back on the Moon and developing its resources.

Monday, May 24, 2004

Sea Launch Successfully Delivers DIRECTV 7S to Orbit: "Sea Launch Successfully Delivers DIRECTV 7S to Orbit - Heaviest Commercial Satellite Ever Launched Successfully

LONG BEACH, Calif., May 4, 2004 -- Sea Launch Company today successfully delivered the DIRECTV 7S broadcast satellite to orbit from its ocean-based platform on the Equator, marking ten consecutive successes for this highly reliable system. Early data indicate the spacecraft is in excellent condition.
The Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off at 5:42 am PDT (12:42 GMT) from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude, precisely on schedule. All systems performed nominally throughout the flight. The Block DM-SL upper stage inserted the 5,483 kg (12,063 lb.) DIRECTV 7S satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position at 119 degrees West Longitude. A ground station in Fucino, Italy, acquired the spacecraft's first signal, shortly after spacecraft separation, as planned.

Immediately following the mission, Jim Maser, president and general manager of Sea Launch, said, 'In a 29-minute flight with a single-burn of our upper stage, Sea Launch has once again broken its own record by successfully deploying the heaviest commercial satellite in history. This achievement further solidifies Sea Launch's position as the preeminent heavy lift commercial launch service in the industry.'

'I want to congratulate DIRECTV on today's exciting mission. We are so proud to be able to provide another launch for DIRECTV and we look forward to building upon a long and mutually beneficial relationship as you continue to expand your direct-to-home business. I also want to congratulate the entire Sea Launch team and thank each member of the team for their enormous contribution to today's flawless mission.'
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DSSHELPER.COM - Your Ultimate Satellite Resource: "
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May 4 , 2004 - Sea Launch Sends DirecTV 7S Into Orbit
Source: Universe Today
Sea Launch Company today successfully delivered the DIRECTV 7S broadcast satellite to orbit from its ocean-based platform on the Equator, marking ten consecutive successes for this highly reliable system. Early data indicate the spacecraft is in excellent condition.

The Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket lifted off at 5:42 am PDT (12:42 GMT) from the Odyssey Launch Platform, positioned at 154 degrees West Longitude, precisely on schedule. All systems performed nominally throughout the flight. The Block DM-SL upper stage inserted the 5,483 kg (12,063 lb.) DIRECTV 7S satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, on its way to a final orbital position at 119 degrees West Longitude. A ground station in Weilheim, Germany, acquired the spacecraft's first signal, shortly after spacecraft separation, as planned.

Immediately following the mission, Jim Maser, president and general manager of Sea Launch, said, 'In a 29-minute flight with a single-burn of our upper stage, Sea Launch has once again broken its own record by successfully deploying the heaviest commercial satellite in history. This achievement further solidifies Sea Launch's position as the preeminent heavy lift commercial launch service in the industry.' "
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The Atlantic | May 2003 | Long Shot | Easterbrook: "The Atlantic Monthly | May 2003

Long Shot

Defying the odds, even before the recent loss of the space shuttle Columbia, an eccentric company called Sea Launch has become the first private enterprise to send large rockets into space--from an enormous floating launch pad that sails to the equator for blast-off. Has the era of private space travel begun?

by Gregg Easterbrook

.....

Everybody knows about the Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, from which the space shuttle flies. Many people know about Vandenberg Air Force Base, in central California, from which the military launches spy satellites aboard big Titan rockets originally designed to hurl nuclear bombs at the Soviet Union. But hardly anybody knows about a third spaceport in the United States, which can be found adjoining a bird sanctuary at one end of the isthmus on which the Port of Long Beach sits, just outside Los Angeles."

No government agency or military organization owns this new facility. Its heart is an enormous, otherworldly-looking vessel called the Odyssey—a floating launch pad, twenty stories high, built atop the same kind of floodable pillars as an oil platform. When viewed from a distance, the ship suggests the alien-designed teleportation tower in the sci-fi movie Contact. Intended to sail to the Equator and send into orbit an unmanned rocket that can carry as much as the space shuttle, the Odyssey is the operational part of the first entirely private effort to put into space entirely private large rockets carrying entirely private payloads. The ship is so large that when it came through the Suez Canal, in 1998, its owners, a company called Sea Launch, had to rent both lanes. Moored near the Odyssey at Long Beach is a large companion ship, the Sea Launch Commander. Built in Glasgow, the Sea Launch Commander scraped the sides of the Panama Canal on its passage from Scotland to California.
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Sunday, May 23, 2004

UN Registry: "The United Nations Registry of Space Objects
Edited by Jonathan McDowell
Ninth edition, 2003 Jun 5
(documents A/AC.105/INF.1-409 and ST/SG/SER.E/1-422,424-425)."
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Jonathan's Space Report: "Jonathan's Space Report - Latest Issue

The Space Report ('JSR') is issued about twice a month. It describes all space launches, including both piloted missions and automated satellites. Back issues are available online. To receive the JSR each week by direct email, send a message to majordomo@host.planet4589.org, with a blank subject line and message body containing the single line 'subscribe jsr'. Feel free to reproduce the JSR as long as you're not doing it for profit. If you are doing so regularly, please inform Jonathan by email. Comments, suggestions, and corrections are encouraged. "
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Offaice for Outer Space Affairs
Online Index of Objects Launched inot Ourter Space
Online Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space: "Online Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space
Note: Due to technical issues, the searchable Online Index of Objects Launched into Outer Space is presently not available. A static version of the information in the Index is available below categorised by date of launch. The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs apologises for any inconvenience this may cause. "
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Wednesday, May 19, 2004

News - The Mars Society: "Space Exploration Alliance to Mobilize
'Moon-Mars Blitz' on Capitol Hill

Leading space groups to assemble their members in support of exploration vision
For Immediate Release
Monday, May 17, 2004
12:00 pm EST
Twelve leaders of the Space Exploration Alliance announced today that their organizations would join in launching a �Moon-Mars Blitz� on Capitol Hill July 11-13. During this event, the organizations will bring their members to Washington to visit as many congressional members and staff as possible with a single message: �Fund NASA�s requests for FY 2005 for starting the new Moon, Mars, and Beyond initiative.�
The Space Exploration Alliance comprises leading space advocacy groups, industry associations and space policy organizations. It was formed to promote NASA�s new human exploration initiative. The collaboration for the Moon-Mars Blitz is the opening shot illustrating the kind of campaigns that SEA members will be undertaking to help insure passage of the budget required to launch the new space initiative.
The organizations announcing their partnership for this event today are the American Astronautical Society, Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace States Association, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, California Space Authority, Florida Space Authority, The Mars Society, National Coalition of Spaceport States, National Space Society, ProSpace, Space Access Society and Space Frontier Foundation."
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Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Space Future - Directory of Contents: "Space Future
Directory of Contents


About Space Future

A Quick Guide to the Site

How to Use This Site"
Space Future - General Public Space Travel and Tourism: "General Public Space Travel and Tourism - Volume 1 Executive Summary


Daniel O'Neil
Compiler
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
Ivan Bekey and John Mankins
NASA Headquarters, Washington D.C.
Thomas F Rogers and Eric W Stallmer
Space Transportation Association, Arlington, Virginia "

Monday, May 17, 2004

Interview | Buzz Aldrin: "Before you evaluate the reality of Buzz Aldrin in the flesh and sitting across the table from you, you have to think about who he is. Who he -- for as long, certainly, as I can remember -- has always been. He is, before anything else, one of the select. One of the few. One of a handful of people -- perhaps a dozen, at most -- on this celestial body who, to our knowledge, has set foot on another. On July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon, following crew mate Neil Armstrong by less than half an hour."
Space Tourism: "Tourism and Life
in Space

One of the typical images of the future, in the collective unconscious, is the possibility of space flight and even of living in space for work or for tourism.
After the historic flight of Dennis Tito, this is not just a dream anymore. And many are already prepared to seize the opportunities offered by this new fronteer.

The Russians and the Japanese are among the pioneers in the commercial exploitation of space, but also senior american experts like Edwin Aldrin (second man on the moon) have their plans.

Rumors keep on surfacing about the involvement of Hilton Hotels, British Airways and Virgin with the Japanese, regarding a space hotel. Plans are rather advanced.
Since 1993, the Japanese Rocket Society have been working very hard indeed on their Kankoh-maru SSTO VTOL, a vehicle designed to carry 50 people up to space at a time from more or less any airport anywhere.

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Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Leading Space Groups Agree: It's Time For The Moon, Mars And Beyond | SpaceRef - Your Space Reference: "PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Monday, May 10, 2004
Source: National Space Society
Leading Space Groups Agree: It's Time For The Moon, Mars And Beyond
In an unprecedented show of unity, thirteen of the nation's premier space advocacy groups, industry associations and space policy organizations have teamed up to support the effort to refocus NASA's human space activities toward exploration, including a return to the Moon and moving on to Mars and beyond.
The organizations involved include: Aerospace Industries Association, Aerospace States Association, American Astronautical Society, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, California Space Authority, Florida Space Authority, The Mars Society, National Coalition of Spaceport States, National Space Society, The Planetary Society, ProSpace, Space Access Society and Space Frontier Foundation.
Collectively these groups can count almost one million Americans as members or as employees of member companies. Their first goal as a group is to work for broad Congressional support of the new national vision for space exploration outside of low earth orbit, which they refer to as Moon, Mars and Beyond. To begin they will work to secure first year funding for the initiative, which they view as a necessary first step for in-depth planning of the exploration program to commence in earnest.
In addition they intend to aggressively refute the false impression that Moon, Mars and Beyond is too expensive for this country to take on. They will demonstrate how modest but steady growth in our national expenditures on space can move the nation toward these important goals, and the benefits those expenditures will provide. "

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Sunday, May 09, 2004

WHAT IS FOR DINNER ON THE MOON OR MARS? - LRK -
: " SPACE TECHNOLOGY: RECYCLING FOR EARTH AND BEYOND

SUNNYVALE, California, September 19, 1991 -- 'No waste in
space!' is the motto of a Lockheed scientist studying some really
far-out recycling techniques for tomorrow's Moon and Mars
dwellers.
He thinks his work also will benefit the home planet -- long
before our future space colonists ship out.
'It's certain that men and women will leave Earth to set up
outposts on the Moon and Mars early in the next century,' said
Dr. Steven Schwartzkopf. 'The question we're trying to answer at
Lockheed is how they will live when they get there.' Schwartzkopf
knows these extraterrestrial pioneers will need to grow their own
food, supply their own water, and figure out what to do with the
trash."
Unlike early space explorers, the 21st-century pioneers
won't be coming right back to Earth. "They can't just stock up on
supplies for the trip, then bring home the leftovers,"
Schwartzkopf said. That's what astronauts have done so far, but
it won't work on long missions, let alone on planetary outposts.
"It would be difficult to keep a Moon settlement supplied
with fresh air, water and groceries, and impossible to resupply a
base on Mars. The cost alone would be astronomical," he said.
"Besides, these bases need to be pretty self-sufficient because
they're so far from Earth. We might have trouble getting to them
in time if they run out of the necessities. The system we're
designing solves these problems."
Schwartzkopf envisions a Moon or Mars base with greenhouses
that provide hydroponically grown food for the population -- and
in the process, help purify the air. He also is planning
recycling systems that will keep the base supplied with plenty of
usable water, and a means for processing solid wastes that also
would provide fuel for base operations -- as well as fertilize
the food crops.
What really excites Schwartzkopf about all this, beyond the
sci-fi aspects, is the potential to use his technologies to solve
problems closer to home.
"For example, some of the water- and solid-waste reclamation
techniques could recycle much of the waste water we dump into our
oceans and help us eliminate the need for landfills. And the
techniques we're investigating for developing Martian food crops,
which must be resistant to drought, cold, and ultraviolet
radiation, certainly could improve food production on Earth," he
said. "Survivors of California's drought -- and last winter's
freeze -- can relate to that!"

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Friday, May 07, 2004

BE PART OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR SPACE COLONIZATION EFFORT! HELP EXPAND HUMANKIND'S TERRITORY BEYOND EARTH

: "Trans Lunar Research (TLR) is a tax exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded in 1996. TLR's major goal is to set up the first manned Lunar Station on the surface of the Moon. The 'cheap' hardware required to achieve this goal is under development in-house at Trans Lunar Research and at various locations around the world. Providing cash grants to selected organizations, TLR functions as a private space agency supporting space technology development. Trans Lunar Research believes that in order to make space attractive to the masses, it is imperative that humans not only colonize, but also industrialize space. For this reason we are promoting the development of deep space survival hardware such as more efficient rocket propulsion systems, lightweight radiation protection, Lunar and planetary oxygen extraction equipment, Moon and space-based energy production stations, and other technologies that will allow people to live self-sufficiently in space. These technologies will provide the preliminary infrastructure required to make space a commercially viable and profitable industrial zone. Once space becomes a profitable place to do business, it will attract the masses. "
Astronomy Picture of the Day: "Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2004 May 7 "
Lunar Photo of the Day

Lunar Photo of the Day - LPOD: "2004 January 18
Credit: Christian LeGrand


Recently I recommended lunar charts by Antonin Rukl as the absolute best available. They are...to post on a wall, unfold at the eyepiece, or savor as a lovely book, but I must retract the word 'absolute.' Maps of the Moon have gone digital, and whereas a computer is less convenient than a paper map for many uses, the power of a digital lunar map to display the Moon is truly amazing. The image above demonstrates some ways digital maps can morph the Moon that paper ones can't, no matter how much you twist or bend them. This view from the Virtual Moon Atlas by Christian LeGrand and Patrick Chevalley is part of a Clementine global mosaic of the Moon looking eastward across Sinus Iridum, with part of Mare Imbrium on the right. The inset shows a low oblique perspective (a photo image draped over Clementine digital topography) of Iridum, as could be seen out the window of your personal lunar orbiter. The panel to the right offers all sorts of data on the features seen in the map image. VMA can display the portion of the Moon illuminated (including libration effects) on any given night, with optional nomenclature and lat/long grids. It can also overlay layers showing other types of data such as geology, and perhaps in the future, compositional and geophysical - or selenophysical - data. VMA is an extraordinary tool for the amateur and the professional student of the Moon. And using a standard estimation of value (number of features divided by cost), the fact that VMA is free, makes its value infinite!

Related Links:Virtual Moon Atlas"
Lunar Photo of the Day

Lunar Photo of the Day - LPOD: "2004 January 18
Credit: Christian LeGrand


Recently I recommended lunar charts by Antonin Rukl as the absolute best available. They are...to post on a wall, unfold at the eyepiece, or savor as a lovely book, but I must retract the word 'absolute.' Maps of the Moon have gone digital, and whereas a computer is less convenient than a paper map for many uses, the power of a digital lunar map to display the Moon is truly amazing. The image above demonstrates some ways digital maps can morph the Moon that paper ones can't, no matter how much you twist or bend them. This view from the Virtual Moon Atlas by Christian LeGrand and Patrick Chevalley is part of a Clementine global mosaic of the Moon looking eastward across Sinus Iridum, with part of Mare Imbrium on the right. The inset shows a low oblique perspective (a photo image draped over Clementine digital topography) of Iridum, as could be seen out the window of your personal lunar orbiter. The panel to the right offers all sorts of data on the features seen in the map image. VMA can display the portion of the Moon illuminated (including libration effects) on any given night, with optional nomenclature and lat/long grids. It can also overlay layers showing other types of data such as geology, and perhaps in the future, compositional and geophysical - or selenophysical - data. VMA is an extraordinary tool for the amateur and the professional student of the Moon. And using a standard estimation of value (number of features divided by cost), the fact that VMA is free, makes its value infinite!

Related Links:Virtual Moon Atlas"

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Astrobiology Magazine: "Hemorrhaging from the Fingertips
Date Thursday, April 29 @ 16:23:21
Topic Mars Life"

Beyond the Moon To Mars
Hemorrhaging from the Fingertips
by Astrobiology Magazine staffwriter

Parts 1 * 2 * 3

NASA Research Park (NRP) launched a new Exploration Lecture Series at NASA Ames Research Center, to feature top researchers and academics, who will examine new technologies for human and robot-based exploration, as well as on-going and planned space exploration missions. The first lecture, "The Moon, Mars and Beyond," featured Dr. Andrew Chaikin, author of "A Man on the Moon: The Triumphant Story of the Apollo Space Program." The book was the basis for Tom Hanks' HBO miniseries "From the Earth to the Moon," which won an Emmy for best miniseries in 1998.

New moon mineral found: "New moon mineral found

April 27, 2004 15:53 IST


A new mineral has been found in a meteorite from the moon which was found in Oman in April 2001, report agencies.
The mineral has been named hapkeite, after Bruce Hapke of the University of Pittsburgh who predicted the existence of such a compound on the moon 30 years ago. Hapke, 70, retired recently.
Hapkeite, an iron and silicon compound, is made when tiny particles from space impact the moon's surface at very high speeds. Since the moon has an airless surface, the process is very different from what occurs under similar circumstances on earth, said scientists.
Small meteorites which would burn after entering the earth's atmosphere constantly bombard the lunar surface and in turn darken the moon's surface, a process called 'weathering.' The new found mineral is one of several such compounds predicted as possible a result of space weathering. "
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Monday, May 03, 2004

LAST COMMISSION MEETING - LRK -

President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond: "President's Commission on
Moon, Mars and Beyond

'We choose to explore space
because doing so improves our lives,
and lifts our national spirit'
- President George W. Bush - January 14, 2004

News
Final Commission Hearing to Feature International Partners, Space Organizations, Major Media and Public Deliberation

Representatives from the European Space Agency, Arianespace, Canada and Japan will appear as witnesses before the President's Commission on Moon, Mars and Beyond in a public hearing to be held in New York City, May 3 and 4, 2004. Popular space organizations such as the Planetary Society, National Space Society and Federation of Galaxy Explorers will also be represented � along with 'big picture' media spokesmen from IMAX, PARADE and Aviation Week. The final segment of the hearing will be devoted to public deliberation by the Commission members. The hearing will take place at the Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, New York. [more]"

Saturday, May 01, 2004

A GREAT SOURCE OF IDEAS - TO THE MOON, MARS, AND BEYOND - LRK -
Romance to Reality - Moon and Mars Mission Plans | David S. F. Portree | Faculty | Mars Institute - To further the scientific study, exploration, and public understanding of Mars: "Romance to Reality: moon & Mars mission plans
It is part of the nature of man to start with romance and build to a reality.
- Ray Bradbury
Romance to Reality contains more than 350 detailed annotations (that is, summaries and descriptions) of classic, seminal, and illustrative moon and Mars exploration and settlement studies dating from 1950 to present. These are arranged in 15 sections by subject. I continually add to this site because I want to
teach about the challenges and opportunities of exploring and settling the moon and Mars
make widely available the legacy of ideas engineers and scientists have developed for exploring and settling the moon and Mars
provide an exciting glimpse of possible futures by looking into the past
help in a small way to build a future including human activities on the moon and Mars
My criteria for selecting documents to annotate are admittedly fluid. I give emphasis to studies which emerged as important to later planning, but also include those that help to illustrate the wide range of moon and Mars options. Romance to Reality is meant to be a primer for building the future, not merely a catalog of unrealized dreams. - David S. F. Portree"
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LET US TAKE A TRIP ON THE MOON. - LRK -
The Space Review: Lunar rovers past and future (page 1): "Lunar rovers past and future
by Anthony Young
Monday, April 5, 2004
In his January 14, 2004 speech at NASA Headquarters proclaiming a new vision of United States space exploration, President Bush announced a return to the Moon by 2020 with a renewed commitment of lunar exploration. Notwithstanding the political (read: funding) minefields that await, future astronauts returning to the moon will most certainly have a lunar rover to fulfill their tasks. How different would it really be from the 1972 model? To get the answer, a bit of history is in order first."
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HAVE COPIED THE WORD DOCUMENT FOR THE RFI 01 FOCUS FOR NASA-SNOTE-040421-001

Focus Areas for RFI 01 NASA-SNOTE-040421-001


http://www1.eps.gov/spg/NASA/GMSFC/POVA/NASA-SNOTE-040421-001/Synopsis.html
A--EXPLORATION SYSTEMS ENTERPRISE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Focus Areas for RFI 01 - Posted on Apr 21, 2004
http://www1.eps.gov/spg/NASA/GMSFC/POVA/NASA-SNOTE-040421-001/Attachments.html

[WHICH GIVES YOU A REFERENCE TO THE WORD DOCUMENT BELOW - LRK -]
[13 PAGE, 66 KB, VERY READABLE, GOOD OUTLINE FOR A BOOK - LRK -]
http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/eps/eps_data/109972-OTHER-001-001.doc
EXPLORATION SYSTEMS ENTERPRISE
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

Which has been posted here as well. - LRK -



EXPLORATION SYSTEMS ENTERPRISE
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION


RFI Focus Area: Design Principles, Objectives, and Guidelines

LESSONS LEARNED
Issue(s): What lessons have been learned from our previous operational robotic and human exploration activities?

Suggested paper topics. What lessons have been learned from our robotic and human exploration of the Moon, robotic exploration of Mars, STS, ISS, and other low rate production and flight programs which may be applicable to the new Nation’s vision? What lessons have been learned from attempts to achieve technology infusion and incorporation of enhancements? Discuss good and bad approaches to requirements formulation, development, flight operations and acquisition strategies (including structure and maintenance of relationship with industry). For example, if the Apollo program were repeated today, what would we do the same, and what would we do differently?

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WHO IS GOING TO SPACE AND WILL IT BE A COOPERATIVE EFFORT? - LRK -
U.S. Snubbed China's Offer for Space Cooperation: 'Technology Not Mature': "U.S. Snubbed China's Offer for Space Cooperation: 'Technology Not Mature'
By Tariq Malik
SPACE.com Staff Writer
posted: 09:30 am ET
28 April 2004"

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL -- Despite joining the elite club of nations to have successfully launched humans into space, China remains an outsider with the United State, reaching out to other spacefaring countries, an expert on Chinese space exploration said Tuesday.

The Chinese National Space Administration was surprised to receive a cold reaction from the U.S. after the successful flight of taikonaut Yang Liwei in October 2003, said Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert on China’s space efforts.

“The Chinese were shocked to find that now that they had a manned space program the U.S. would not work with them,” Johnson-Freese said during the 41st Space Congress underway here. “They were told their ‘technology was not mature.’”

For over a decade, China has fueled its human space flight program to the collective tune of $2.2 billion. That figure comes from Zhou Xiaofei, Manager of the Manned Spaceflight Department within the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Zhou revealed the cost number at an International Space Law Seminar 2004, which opened on Apr 26 in Beijing, and was reported by China's People's Daily Online.
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Moon and Mars - Videos

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