The Silly Reason the Chinese Aren’t Allowed on the Space Station

2 minute read
Ideas
Jeffrey Kluger is an editor at large at TIME. He covers space, climate, and science. He is the author of 12 books, including Apollo 13, which served as the basis for the 1995 film, and was nominated for an Emmy Award for TIME's series A Year in Space.

Geopolitics can be child’s play—literally. How else would you describe the did-not! did-too! brawl that can result when one country crosses another country’s invisible line in the playroom that is the South China Sea? How else would you describe the G-8 canceling its playdate in Sochi after Russia climbed over the fence to Ukraine’s yard?

Something similar is true of the International Space Station (ISS), the biggest, coolest, most excellent tree house there ever was. Principally built and operated by the U.S., the ISS has welcomed aboard astronauts from 15 different countries, including such space newbies as South Africa, Brazil, The Netherlands and Malaysia. But China? Nuh-uh. Never has happened, never gonna’ happen.

China has been barred from the ISS since 2011, when Congress passed a law prohibiting official American contact with the Chinese space program due to concerns about national security. “National security,” of course, is the lingua franca excuse for any country to do anything it jolly well wants to do even if it has nothing to do with, you know, the security of the nation. But never mind.

Few people in the U.S. paid much attention to the no-Chinese law, but it’s at last taking deserved heat, thanks to a CNN interview with the three Chinese astronauts—or taikonauts—who flew China’s Shenzhou 10 mission in 2013. The network’s visit to China’s usually closed Space City, which will air on May 30, is a reporting coup, especially because of the entirely familiar, entirely un-scary world it reveals: serious taikonauts doing serious work with serious mission planners—every bit what you see behind the scenes at NASA or Russia’s Roscosmos.

See the Most Beautiful Space Photos of 2014

NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array's first picture of the sun taken in high-energy X-rays released on Dec. 22, 2014.
NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array's first picture of the sun taken in high-energy X-rays released on Dec. 22, 2014. JPL-Caltech/GSFC/NASA
An infrared image of a small portion of the Monkey Head Nebula (also known as NGC 2174 and Sharpless Sh2-252) captured by the Hubble telescope, released on March 17, 2014. The nebula is a star-forming region that hosts dusky dust clouds silhouetted against glowing gas.NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
An infrared image of a small portion of the Monkey Head Nebula captured by the Hubble telescope released on March 17, 2014. NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team
A spiral galaxy, also known as M106, about 23 million light years from Earth.
NGC 4258 is a spiral galaxy well known to astronomers for having two so-called anomalous arms that glow in X-ray, optical and radio light. Chandra X-ray Observatory/CXC/Caltech/NASA
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/15050207206/Eta Carinae: Our Neighboring Superstars (NASA, Chandra, 08/26/14)Eta Carinae is one of the most luminous known star systems in our galaxy. It radiates energy at a rate that is 5 million times that of the Sun. Most of this energy is radiated at infrared wavelengths. It is shrouded in a rapidly expanding cloud of dust which absorbs radiation from the central star and re-radiates it in the infrared.
Eta Carinae is one of the most luminous known star systems in our galaxy seen here in this photo released on Aug. 26, 2014.JPL-Caltech/NASA
A reprocessed picture shows off the amazing colors of Europa, a mysterious ice-covered moon of Jupiter, as they have never been seen before released on Nov. 21, 2014.
A reprocessed picture shows off the amazing colors of Europa, a mysterious ice-covered moon of Jupiter, as they have never been seen before released on Nov. 21, 2014.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute
Reid Wiseman ‏@astro_reid Jun 1A simple toy from my childhood makes for a cool picture in space. pic.twitter.com/yddfNTwiow
Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo on June 1, 2014 from the International Space Station "A simple toy from my childhood makes for a cool picture in space."Reid Wiseman—NASA
Infrared Image of Saturn's Rings
This image of Saturn's rings was taken by a camera on the Cassini spacecraft released on Jan. 21, 2014. JPL-Caltech/NASA/EPA
ESA's Optical Ground Station in Tenerife
A long exposure of the European Space Agency's Optical Ground Station at the La Teide Observatory on the Canary Islands, Spain released on April 27, 2014.EPA
An aurora near Australia seen from the International SPace Station, released on July 15, 2014.
An aurora near Australia seen from the International Space Station released on July 15, 2014.NASA
NASA: LL Ori and the Orion Nebula
This close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis interacting with the Orion Nebula flow. NASA/Sipa
The Eagle Nebula, also known as as Messier 16 or M16, and the 'Pillars of Creation' in the constellation Serpens in May 2014.
The Eagle Nebula also known as as Messier 16 or M16, and the 'Pillars of Creation' in the constellation Serpens in May 2014.Adam Block—Mount Lemmon Skycenter
Russell Crater dunes on Mars released on Feb. 5, 2014.
The Russell Crater dunes seen on Mars in this photo released on Feb. 5, 2014.JPL/University of Arizona/NASA
NASA image of Saturn taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera
Saturn taken with the Cassini spacecraft wide-angle camera on Nov. 23, 2013 and released for the first time on Feb. 3, 2014. NASA/JPL/Caltech/Reuters
This vista of the Endeavour Crater rim taken by Opportunity Rover combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam) on the 3,637th Martian day, or sol, of the mission on April 18, 2014 and was released on May 19, 2014.
This vista of the Endeavour Crater rim taken by Opportunity Rover combines several exposures taken by the rover's panoramic camera on April 18, 2014 and was released on May 19, 2014.JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/NASA
Alexander Gerst ‏@Astro_Alex Jul 6 View translationHarsh land. Windswept valleys in northern #Africa / Hartes Land. Windgefraeste Taeler in Nordafrika pic.twitter.com/sFcbhRIF2Z
Astronaut Alexander Gerst ‏tweeted this photo on July 6, 2014 from the International Space Station "Harsh land. Windswept valleys in northern #Africa / Hartes Land"Alexander Gerst—NASA
The moon over northeast Greenland in March 2014.
The moon over northeast Greenland in March 2014.Michael Studinger—NASA
NASA picture of a crescent moon rising over the cusp of the Earth's atmosphere
A crescent moon rises over the cusp of the Earth's atmosphere in this picture by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata onboard the International Space Station on Feb. 1, 2014.NASA/Reuters
An optical image, from the Digitized Sky Survey of the Flame Nebula released on May 7, 2014.
An optical image, from the Digitized Sky Survey of the Flame Nebula released on May 7, 2014. DDS/NASA
New Hubble infrared view of the Tarantula Nebula
New Hubble infrared view of the Tarantula Nebula released on Jan. 9, 2014. NASA, ESA, E. Sabbi (STScI)—NASA, ESA, E. Sabbi (STScI)
The sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 7:28 p.m. EST on Dec. 19, 2014. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This flare is classified as an X1.8-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc.
The sun emits a significant solar flare on Dec. 19, 2014 as seen from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, SDO/NASA
Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted on July 3, 2014 "Hurricane #Arthur has grown an eye since we last met."
Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on July 3, 2014 "Hurricane #Arthur has grown an eye since we last met." Reid Wiseman—NASA
The Elephant's Trunk Nebula, also known as IC 1396, on April 14, 2014.
The Elephant's Trunk Nebula, also known as IC 1396 on April 14, 2014.Eric Coles
As an island in the moist, atmospherically turbulent North Atlantic, Iceland is often shrouded in cloud cover and hard to observe from space. And lately, the island is making some of its own cloud cover, as the Earth has split open between the Bardarbunga and Askja volcanoes and spewed lava and hot gas. The view of the Holuhraun lava field has been spectacular from the ground and from low-flying aircraft. Infrared imaging makes the view spectacular from space, too.On September 6, 2014, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this view of the ongoing eruption. The false-color images combine shortwave infrared, near infrared, and green light (OLI bands 6-5-3). Ice and the plume of steam and sulfur dioxide appear cyan and bright blue, while liquid water is navy blue. Bare or rocky ground around the Holuhraun lava field appears in shades of green or brown in this band combination. Fresh lava is bright orange and red. (Download this large image to see the same area in natural color.)“Thermal imagery can be used to determine the extent of the lava flows and the heat loss,” noted Ashley Davies, a Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist and leader of NASA’s Volcano Sensor Web team. Infrared imagery can help scientists estimate the effusion rate—the rate at which lava is pouring out of the Earth—as well as the sulfur dioxide content of the plume. “And high resolution imagery of this kind allows us to model the dynamics of the emplacement process. In this case, individual vents can be seen feeding separate lava flows that combine into a main channel feeding an expanding lava flow field.”By some accounts, Holuhraun has spewed more lava this month than any Icelandic volcano since the 19th century. As of September 9, 2014, the new lava flow was 16 kilometers (10 miles) long and covered about 20 square kilometers (8 square miles), according to the University of Iceland.The plume from Holuhraun is rich with sulfur dioxide (SO2), a rotten-smelling gas
The Holuhraun lava field as seen with infrared imaging captured by the Operational Land Imager on Sept. 6, 2014, NASA
INDIA-SPACE-SCIENCE-MARS
Mars is seen in an image taken by the ISRO Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft released on Sept. 30, 2014.ISRO/AFP/Getty Images
APTOPIX Kazakhstan Russia Space Station
The Russian Soyuz-FG rocket booster with Soyuz TMA-13M space ship carrying the Expedition 40 crew to the International Space Station launches from the Russian leased Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan on May 29, 2014.Dmitry Lovetsky—AP
Using the CIVA camera on Rosetta’s Philae lander the spacecraft snapped a ‘selfie’ with a comet passing by in the background in this photo released on Oct. 14, 2014.
Using the CIVA camera on Rosetta’s Philae lander the spacecraft snapped a ‘selfie’ with a passing comet in this photo released on Oct. 14, 2014.Rosetta/Philae/CIVA/ESA
Saturn, which appears as a thin crescent, broken only by the shadows of its rings, was captured by the Cassini spacecraft cameras in this image released on March 17, 2014. This view looks toward the unilluminated side of the rings from about 42 degrees below the ringplane.
Saturn was captured by the Cassini spacecraft cameras in this image released on March 17, 2014. JPL-Caltech/NASA
Handout of the evolving universe is shown in this composite of separate exposures taken in 2003 to 2012 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3
A composite of separate exposures taken in 2003 to 2012 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3 of the evolving universe is shown in this image released on June 3, 2014.NASA/Reuters
Reid Wiseman ‏@astro_reid Jul 1Here is a #TodaySunrise from space for @MLauer pic.twitter.com/xyckQ0AAdVHere is a #TodaySunrise from space for @MLauer." - Reid Wiseman via Twitter on July 1, 2014.
Astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on July 1, 2014 "Here is a #TodaySunrise from space for @MLauer"Reid Wiseman—NASA

And similar to the nature of those other space agencies too is the professed wish of the Chinese crews to work across national borders. “As an astronaut, I have a strong desire to fly with astronauts from other countries,” said Nie Haisheng, the Shenzhou 10 commander. “I also look forward to going to the International Space Station. Space is a family affair; many countries are developing their space programs and China, as a big country, should make our own contributions in this field.”

But that contribution can’t happen aboard the ISS. The 2011 law draws a sort of ex post facto justification from a study that was released in 2012 by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, warning that China’s policymakers “view space power as one aspect of a broad international competition in comprehensive national strength and science and technology.” More darkly, there is the 2015 report prepared by the University of California, San Diego’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, ominously titled “China Dream, Space Dream“, which concludes: “China’s efforts to use its space program to transform itself into a military, economic, and technological power may come at the expense of U.S. leadership and has serious implications for U.S. interests.”

OK, deep, cleansing breaths please. On the surface, the studies make a kind of nervous, reflexive sense. China is big, China is assertive, China has made clear its intentions to project its military power in ways it never has before—including to the high ground of space.

But if that sounds familiar it’s because it’s an echo of the Cold War hysteria that greeted the launch the Soviet Union’s Sputnik. The world’s first satellite, Sputnik was a terrifying, beach ball sized object that orbited the Earth from Oct. 1957 to January 1958, presenting the clear and present danger that at some point it might beep at us as it flew overhead. Every Soviet space feat that followed was one more log on the Cold War fire, one more reason to conclude that we were in a mortal arms and technology race and woe betide us if the guys on the other side got so much as a peek at what we were doing.

That argument failed for a lot of reasons. For one thing, the Soviets hardly needed a peek at our tech since they were the ones who were winning. When you’re in first place in your division you don’t to steal ideas from the guys in last. Something similar is true of the Chinese now.

After launching their first solo astronaut in 2003, they have followed in rapid succession with two-person and then three-person crews, and have mastered both spacewalking and orbital docking. They have orbited a core module for their own eventual space station, have sent multiple spacecraft to the moon and are planning a Mars rover. They didn’t do all that by filching American tech.

The doubters are unappeased, however. Both these reports warn that all of China’s technological know-how, no matter how they acquired it, has multiple uses, and can be put to either good or nefarious ends, a fact that is pretty much true of every, single technological innovation from fire through the Apple Watch.

Even if all of the fears were well-founded—even if a Chinese Death Star were under construction at this moment in a mountain lair in Xinjiang—forbidding the kind of international handshaking and cooperating that is made possible by a facility like the ISS is precisely the wrong way to to go about reducing the threat. The joint Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975 achieved little of technological significance, but it was part of a broader thaw between Moscow and Washington. That mattered, in the same way ping pong diplomacy between the U.S. and China in 1971 was about nothing more than a game—until it was suddenly about much more.

Well before the ISS was built and occupied, the shuttle was already flying American crews to Russia’s Mir space station. Russia later became America’s leading partner in operating and building the ISS—a shrewd American move that both offloaded some of the cost of the station and provided work for Russian missile engineers who found themselves idle after the Berlin Wall fell and could easily have sold their services to nuclear nasties like North Korea or Iran.

The technology aboard the ISS is not the kind that a Chinese astronaut with ill will would want to or need to steal. And more to the point, if there’s one thing the men and women who fly in space will tell you, it’s that once they get there, terrestrial politics mean nothing at all—the sandbox silliness of politicians who are not relying on the cooperation of a few close crewmates to keep them alive and safe as they race through low Earth orbit. From space, as astronauts like to say, you can’t see borders. It’s a perspective the lawmakers in Washington could use.

More Must-Reads from TIME

Write to Jeffrey Kluger at jeffrey.kluger@time.com

TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.