Background

The most fascinating aspect of space rendezvous is the human space flight. More glamour gets added in such missions is when the astronauts undertake a spacewalk. Undertaking such extravehicular activity (EVA—commonly known as spacewalk) is an extremely challenging task. Till date many astronauts particularly from the states like the USA and Russia have undertaken spacewalks. For developed spacefaring states after mastering the technology of human space flights and EVAs, the next logical step is to bring more purpose to such visits beyond technology demonstration. With a view to undertake experiments in space and create an

A. Lele, Asian Space Race: Rhetoric or Reality?, DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-0733-7_14, 205

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arrangement for longer duration and for more comfortable stay for the astronauts, few states have developed space stations and established space laboratories. Such arrangements allow them to undertake various scientific experimentations under microgravity conductions. Mankind has ambitions to establish human settlements in the space. Various concepts from low-Earth-orbit hotels to the settlements on the Moon and Mars are being discussed and debated for last couple of years. In this context development of space shuttles, undertaking human space visits, carrying out space walks and establishing space laboratories and space stations are imperative. For the fulfilment of the long-term ambition like colonising the Moon, the developments of space stations are going to be the first baby steps. Realising the long-term importance of such activities, the major spacefaring Asian states have started making investments in such activities. These states also factor in scientific, social and foreign policy relevance of human missions in their thinking.

It is a common knowledge that the USA and the erstwhile USSR (Russia) are the pioneers in undertaking human space visits and spacewalks. However, Asian states do also have certain linkages to the initial human space flights. The first manned mission to orbit the Moon, Apollo 8, included American William Anders who incidentally was born in Hong Kong, so he is referred as the first Asian-born astronaut in 1968. Similarly, in April 1985, Taylor Wand visited space as crew of STS-51B Challenger (April 29-May 6, 1985). He becomes the first ethnic Chinese person in space.1 Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud from Saudi Arabia was the first Arab and Muslim to visit the space. In 1985, he flew as a payload specialist on STS-51G Discovery (June 17-24,1985).[287] [288] A Japanese television journalist named Toyohiro Akiyama was the first Japanese to visit space on Soyuz craft to the Mir space station.[289] Incidentally, this 1990 visit is also known as the first space visit undertaken as a part of a commercial agreement. Six years before this, an Indian Air Force Officer Rakesh Sharma had visited space as a part of a joint Indo-Soviet space mission. In an unfortunate incidence on Feb 1, 2003, Kalpana Chawla, the US astronaut of Indian origin (born and studied in India—the first Indian woman in space) died in Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. This ill-fated shuttle also had Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut on board.

The first Chinese in space onboard the Chinese craft was Yang Liwei (October 2003/Shenzhou 5). Malaysia’s first astronaut, Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, was part of the Russian Soyuz rocket mission during Oct 2007. The first South Korean in space was a woman named Yi So-yeon on the Soyuz TMA-12 spacecraft during April 2008 mission.[290] South Korea was the sixth Asian country to put an astronaut in space. However, only China has succeeded so far in sending humans to space with the help of their own spacecraft. Rest all Asians to visit space were either a part of a bilateral agreement or space travel undertaken as a part of commercial agreement.

The accomplishment of the human visits to the space needs to be judged at two different levels. As per the universally accepted norm, an individual qualifies to become an astronaut when he/she travels to a minimum distance of 90 km above the Earth’s surface out into the space. So far multiple such visits have taken place. The ISS is approximately located at a height of 400 km above the earth’s surface. Many human visits to the ISS have taken place till date. Humans have stayed there for a longer duration and have successfully undertaken EVAs. All this indicates that few states have succeeded in visiting the space, however; their visits have remained restricted to the LEO only. The next step in the human dream of space exploration includes human travel to the deep space region and development of human colonies on Moon and Mars. The USA is the only country which has till date been successful with human visits to the deep space region too. In this context, Asia has much to achieve. Only one Asian state so far has succeeded with human visits to the LEO, and the Moon visit is still a distant dream.

Planning of any human visits to space involves a process of an orderly development, testing and maturating of various technologies. The first step in that direction involves sending satellites/capsules to the space and receiving them back to the Earth. This essentially means mastering the re-entry technology. The second stage could involve undertaking developments of space shuttle and first testing technologies with the robotic missions. It is also important to develop technologies in regard to the substance of the human beings in the inhospitable atmosphere out in the space. Also, various challenges are involved in developing the technologies for the purpose of EVAs and building space stations. Varying degrees of investments are being found made by few Asian states in this regard. Following paragraphs analyses such investments.

Design and development of space vehicles is a costly, time-consuming and technologically challenging task. The greatest challenge is to develop a system which can withstand extreme environmental conductions including intense heat which it would have to survive while entering the Earth’s atmosphere on an inbound journey from space to Earth. The task becomes more critical for designing a space shuttle with human passengers onboard.

Asian spacefaring nations always had a dream of indigenous space shuttle to carry humans to space. Some of them have made a modest beginning to fulfil this aspiration but are still much away from achieving the final aim. China is the only Asian state to launch the first human space flight. Other states like India and Japan have interest in this area too but still have much to achieve.