Could American astronauts ride a Chinese spaceship?

John Holdren, science advisor to President Obama suggests that the U.S. might consider sending its astronauts into space aboard a Chinese vehicle, after the space shuttle is retired in 2010.

This depends on how the relationship between the U.S. and China develops…and on how much confidence the U.S. has in China’s manned space program.

Crew of Shenzhou 6, who flew in 2005.

New kid on the block

Until now, most speculation about getting American astronauts into space after the shuttle (and before Constellation) has centered on Russian and/or private spacecraft.

The China is the third, and most recent country to launch people into space. Their first manned mission, in October 2003, put Taikonaut Yang Liwei into orbit. Two years later, China launched a two-man spacecraft on a five day mission. Most recently, the Chinese launched its third manned flight; theis flight, in September 2008, included a spacewalk.

Space Stations and Lunar Exploration

The Chinese are reportedly working on putting up a space laboratory. They have also begun lunar exploration, and landed a probe (Chang’e 1) on the moon (hard!) earlier this year.

China is also reportedly interested in putting a man on the moon. Isn’t everybody?