WASHINGTON
- Some congressmen believe the United States and China are in an unacknowledged
space race that this country could lose if it doesn't spend more money on the
civilian space program.
The
communist nation's military runs its manned
space program, employs an estimated 200,000 workers and has set a goal of
putting an astronaut on the moon by 2017.
By
contrast, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a civilian
government program with a limited budget
that directly employs fewer than 20,000 civil servants and has lost the
commanding lead it once held over the rest of the world in human space
exploration.
"We
have a space race going on right now and the American people are totally
unaware of all this," said Rep. Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican whose
district includes Johnson Space Center near Houston.
The theme,
which is not new, emerged again Thursday at a Capitol Hill hearing where
lawmakers were quizzing NASA Administrator Mike Griffin about the Bush
administration's budget request for the space program.
This time,
though, lawmakers sounded as if they might be willing to do more than just talk
about the issue.
Griffin was
asked to produce in 30 days an unclassified report to Congress containing an
assessment of the Chinese space program and its goals.
Rep. Frank
Wolf, R-Va., chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee with NASA
oversight, said he would hold a hearing on the subject to coincide with the
report's release.
Griffin
acknowledged that China's new Shenzou spaceships are capable of supporting a
crew on a round-trip mission to the moon.
But their Long
March rockets are not powerful enough to get them there, he said.
The United
States has neither a crew vehicle nor a rocket capable of making a moon run.
The shuttle
is designed for low Earth orbit only.
NASA has
begun work on a lunar Crew Exploration Vehicle, but it won't be operational
until 2013 or 2014 because of budget constraints, Griffin said.
Its new
heavy-lift rocket won't be ready until even later, he said.
NASA's
timeline predicts the new rocket and crew vehicle will be ready for a mission
to the moon in 2018, a year later than the Chinese target.
The U.S.
space agency is known for missing planned deadlines for major projects.
"We
need to do more," Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Indialantic, said.
Griffin
said NASA's new lunar vehicles and rockets could be delivered sooner if more
money is made available, but he added that he's not advocating such a change.
DeLay
indicated he's willing to push for more money because the stakes are so high.
"We
had a 40-year lead in space and we're giving it up," he said. "The
U.S. is quibbling over $3 billion to $5 billion. It's amazing to me."
The China
space-race discussion was touched off by Rep. Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican
who in February participated in the first U.S. government delegation visit to
China's remote space launch facility.
"The
American people have no idea how massive the China space program is," Kirk
said.
The
first-of-its-kind, behind-the-scenes tour revealed a modern high-tech facility
that would be the envy of NASA employees, some of whom still work out of
buildings more than 40 years old, Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo, told FLORIDA TODAY
in February after participating in the China tour.
Published under license from FLORIDA TODAY. Copyright ©
2006 FLORIDA TODAY. No portion of this material may be reproduced in
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