To shed light on this, he yoked space and time into a single entity -- the space-time continuum. Any object not utilising the space dimension to travel at the speed of light has to travel in the time dimension. The slower an object travels in space, the faster it travels in time (travelling in time axis means ageing). In other words, the faster an object moves, the slower the passage of time for it.
When it comes to the military space programme, as we shall see soon, the Indian establishment seems to be travelling mostly in time, not much in space!
The hare and the tortoise
China initiated its space programme in 1956 under the auspices of its ministry of aerospace industry. In 1993, the China National Space Administration was carved out of this ministry as the nodal agency. Here is a dossier of the important milestones China pegged out during its space odyssey:
And China intends to build an orbital space station by circa 2015.
Though its origin can be traced to 1962, the Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO, was formally founded four decades ago on August 15, 1969. India's achievements in this field are impressive, but not as stellar as China's. Below is a diary of the important milestones India pegged out during its space odyssey:
China: duplicitous or aggrieved?
Fanhui Shi Weixing-3 series, China's new generation of recoverable photoreconnaissance satellites, are reported to have attained one-metre resolution. Unlike the US, China is yet to master the submetre resolution technology.
China has taken significant strides to achieve space-based ELINT (electronic intelligence), COMINT (communication intelligence) and IMINT (imagery intelligence) capabilities. Not just intelligence gathering, the Chinese leadership is well aware of the critical nature of space-based C4ISR -- Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance -- systems.
Space-based espionage, telecommunications, intelligence, military network -- you name it -- China is surging ahead to aggressively implement its C4ISR strategies and policies, both short-term and long-term.
Yet Beijing proclaimed in 2006 that it supported the use of outer space for peaceful purposes only. Now sample the following:
Well, such doublespeak and rampageous conduct conform to characteristic Chinese jiggery-pokery. However, to be fair to China, the People's Republic was rudely awoken on May 7, 1999, by the 'accidental' demolition of its embassy at Belgrade by three 'smart' JDAMs (Joint Direct Attack Munitions) released by an American B-2 bomber. (JDAM uses satellite guidance and onboard triaxial inertial navigation system for precision delivery.)
Further, Japan launched four IGS-series spy satellites ostensibly to shadow North Korea but no one missed its dual-use against China. Furthermore, as it foresees a showdown with the US over Taiwan sometime, China is desperate to diminish the enormous asymmetry in military space capabilities vis-a-vis the US, and to deter the US with its relatively small but destructive space-based arsenal.
The same Chinese arsenal and capabilities can be swivelled against India.
Part II: Let us develop a military space programme
M P Anil Kumar is a former Indian Air Force fighter pilot.
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