14 DAY TRIAL // Charles Bolden, the Administrator of the American space agency has just returned home from an official visit he made to China, where he says that he and his counterpart set the stage for successful cooperation in the future.
The official explains that he did not travel to China to make actual propositions to the country's National Space Administration (CNSA), but says that the meetings he had with the heads of the nation's space program really set the foundations for the two agencies to work together.
Bolden met with his counterparts between October 16-21. He was taken to visit a number of facilities related to the space program, including a spaceport that China used for some of its most important launches.
The NASA official remained in China for nearly a week, and was taken to visit the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, which is located in the Gobi Desert, Kansu Province.
All of the country's three manned space flights took off from this facility. Bolden said that this was a “very comprehensive visit” to the facility that help made China into the world's third country to put a man in space.
“Although my visit did not include consideration of any specific proposals for future cooperation, I believe that my delegation's visit to China increased mutual understanding on the issue of human spaceflight and space exploration, which can form the basis for further dialogue and cooperation in a manner that is consistent with the national interests of both of our countries,” Bolden said.
He released a statement on Oct. 25, just days after his return from the Asian nation. “On behalf of the NASA delegation that traveled to China, I want to express my appreciation to the China Manned Space Engineering Office, our hosts for my visit,” he wrote.
“I am pleased that NASA was able to meet its objectives for the visit, which included becoming acquainted with relevant Chinese space officials and institutions, better understanding Chinese human spaceflight programs and plans, and reaching a common understanding of the importance of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit as the underlying principles of any future interaction between our two nations in the area of human spaceflight, the official added.
The visit was not without difficulties, with most trouble coming from within the United States. Republican congressmen opposed the initiative, expressing their concerns in a letter sent to Bolden before he left.
The officials, who are Republicans on the House Appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee, said that the Asian nation may harbor ill ambitions for space, which may threaten the national security of the US.
“As you know, we have serious concerns about the nature and goals of China's space program and strongly oppose any cooperation between NASA and China,” they wrote in a letter to Bolden before the visit began.
But the NASA Administrator carried on with his plan regardless. He met up with the head of CNSA, Chen Qiufa, who will soon visit relevant American space facilities, Space reports.