In Sino US cold aerospace industry cooperation has brought a glimmer of warmth, Beijing Institute of Deng Yulin, Dean of the Faculty of life sciences, University of technology told Caijing reporter, hope this thing quickly in the past, to devote myself to the following research work.
At the end of 7 in 2015, the Beijing Institute of Technology and the United States signed a cooperation agreement with the United States NanoRacks, the latter will be the first of a life science experiments carried out on the international space station. Deng Yulin is responsible for the project of the Chinese side.
The international space station runs on the near earth orbit, including 16 countries and organizations, including the United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, Brazil and the European Space Agency, which lasted nearly 20 years to complete.
At the beginning of the international space station planning, the United States believes that the space station technology has military uses, and opposed the invitation to participate in china. In 2011, the U.S. Congress passed a bill called the "Wolf clause", a comprehensive ban on the U.S. aviation and Space Agency (NASA) cooperation and contact with China, NASA or even in its facilities to receive the Chinese official visitors".
In this context, the life science experiment if it can successfully boarded the international space station, will be a "historic" breakthrough.
This is a commercial nature of scientific research cooperation, the two sides are stressed, do not rise to the political level". This means that the Sino US cooperation in the field of space has not yet thawed.
Attempt without hope
"It's really going to happen." NanoRacks managing director Jeffrey Mambor (Manber Jeffrey) said.
NanoRacks is a small and young firms, founded only six years. It is the transformation of the experimental one's own knack in machinery, to provide support for the International Space Station commercial projects.
Technically, it is not difficult to bring this life science experiment into the international space station on NanoRacks. Six years, this small company has more than 200 effective load on the international space station, including a Scotland Brewery will be a bottle of pure malt whiskey to the space station, to study the impact of zero gravity environment and space radiation on the taste of whiskey.
NASA, the European Space Agency, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Romania and Israel a number of colleges and universities, even planet lab, Virgin Galactic, innovative enterprises are nanoracks customers. But there is no institution in China.
China has a first-class research institutions, first-class universities, to go into space to do test without being limited to the local test platform, the United States, Russia and Europe, the platform can try. Find a "correct" mechanism to Chinese cooperation -- this idea had in mind for a long time. Manber. He hopes to break the ice by introducing high quality Chinese studies.
After careful study of the "Wolf terms", NanoRacks believes that the Sino US commercial cooperation in the field of space has not been banned, to NASA consulting, the answer is, "in the case of the right of the organization, we will approve."
Thus, NanoRacks began to inquire about potential collaborators from China in the International Space Science and technology circle, the Northern Polytechnic School of life has been mentioned several times. Coincidentally, in the second half of 2013, an international space conference, the Deng Yulin team in exchange with the international counterparts, expressed the desire to think of the sky to do experiments, is through multiple channels to find opportunities. Thus, the two sides launched a contact.
"At the beginning I don't want to try." Deng Yulin said that he knew the ban in the United States, but their topic relying on ground research is not enough, to be climbing opportunities and the "Shenzhou" manned spacecraft equipped with God and too long.
In China's space science research field, the shortage of space resources in the long term, many projects are in line, a row is a good few years.
Even by 2020, China built its own space station, it can only slightly ease the current shortage of resources. And the international space station's launch frequency is very high, if the United States can approve the agreement, worth a stroke.
NanoRacks went to consult the government department, the answer is, this is an appropriate agency." Thus, the two sides officially began to promote cooperation projects. The aim of this project is to observe the effect of radiation on the gene and the rate of the change of human DNA in the space environment. If this change is too fast, it is likely that the astronauts will face additional risks to the near earth orbit.
Deng Yulin has been very disturbed, or worry about the Congress of the United States or the international space station other participating countries arresting, does have a other countries expressed the different voices. In February 21, 2015, Deng Yulin was very excited, he received a NASA license to cooperate with both sides of the notice, "is not possible to do so now".
In Deng Yulin's view, the first step towards success, "the ultimate goal is to get the data, not to engage in a political show". He had to persuade partners not to disclose the signing of the news, and other research to do a good job, but was informed that the company has the responsibility to disclose information.
For this cooperation, the academic community more optimistic evaluation. U.S. Naval War College Professor, national security affairs expert Joan Johnson - Fritz Joan Johnson Freese told the U.S. media said. "Other countries have with China for cooperation in space, in this case, only the United States opinionated, the adverse. I hope that the international space station of this experiment, a positive step toward the right goal." He believes that a better understanding of China's decision-making mechanism, so that China is responsible for the field of space
