The
-age began with the Russian artificial
Sputnik in 1957 and developed
with a race to the moon between the united stated and Russian.
rivalry was characterized by advanced
and huge budgets. In
process, there were spectacular successes, some failures, but
many spin-offs. With the advent of relatively low-cost, high-performance mini-
and launchers, acquiring indigenous
capabilities by smaller
in
have become possible. Europe,
,
, and India quickly join
club of the superpowers. How, in what manner and for what purpose will their capabilities be realized?
A
Rocket
has progressed considerably since ‘fire arrows’ were
used in
around 500 BC. During the sung dynasty, to repel Mongol invaders at the battle of Kaifeng in AD 1232. Their ancient rockets stand in stark contrast to the present-day Chinese rocket launch vehicles, called the ‘long march’, intended to place a Chinese astronaut in
by 2005 and perhaps achieve a Chinese moon-landing by the end of the decade.
B
In the
decade, there has been a dramatic growth in
activities in
, both in the utilization of
-based services and the production of
and launchers.
rapid expansion has led many commentators and analysts to predict that
will become a world
power. The
-age has had dramatic effects worldwide, with direct developments in
influencing telecommunications, meteorological forecasting, resource and environmental monitoring, and disaster mitigation.
have been remarkably eager to embrace their products.
C
New and innovative uses for
are constantly being explored with potential revolutionary effects,
as in the field of health and telemedicine, distance education, crime prevention(piracy on the high seas), food and agricultural planning and production by the competitive commercial
sector, the emergence of low-cost mini-
, and the globalization of industrial and financial markets. It is not evident how
will develop in the coming decades in the face of these trends. It is,
, essential to understand and assess the factors and forces that shape
activities and development in determining its possible consequences for the region.
D
At present, three
,
,
, and India, have comprehensive end-to-end
capabilities and process a compete for
infrastructure:
,
manufacturing, rockets, and spaceports. Already self-sufficient in terms of
design and manufacturing, South Korea is currently attempting to join their ranks with its plans to develop a launch site and impressive. ASEAN members, unlike
,
, and India, do not have their remote sensing
.
, most member
have facilities to receive, process, and interpret
data from American and European
.
, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore have world-class remote sensing processing facilities and research programmes. ASEAN has plans to develop ( and launch) its
and,
small sensing
.
is regarded as the dominant
power in
, and its record of successes and quality of technologies are equal to those of the west. Because of the technological challenges and high risks involved in
activities, a very long,
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expensive learning curve has been followed to achieve those successes.
’s
manufacturing is based on the old and traditional defence and military procurement methodologies practised in the US and Europe.
E/F
In recent years there have been fundamental changes in the way
are designed and built to reduce costs drastically. The emergence of ‘small
’ and their quick adoption by
countries to develop low-cost
and rapidly establish a
capability has given these countries the possibility to shorten their learning curve by a decade or more. The global increase of
transfer mechanisms and the use of readily available commercial
to replace costly
and military-standard components may very well result in a highly competitive
manufacturing industry.
G
The laws of physics are the same in Tokyo as in Toulouse, and the principles of electronics and mechanics know no political or cultural boundaries.
, no
immutability applies to engineering practices and management; they are very much influenced by education, culture, and history. These factors, in turn, affect costs, lead times, product designs and, eventually, international sales. Many
are sending their engineers to be trained in the west. Highly experienced, they return to work in the growing
industry.
acquisition of technical expertise, coupled perhaps with world-renowned Japanese manufacturing and management techniques, will be applied to build word-class
and reduce cost.