When President Obama met with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, in Beijing on 17 November, 2009, they brought up the possibility of a dialogue on space exploration between the two countries. But two US Representatives are now voicing concerns over NASA Administrator Charles Bolden’s plans to visit China for talks about cooperation on human spaceflight from 16 – 21 October.
“I do not believe it is appropriate for the Administrator to meet with any Chinese officials until Congress is fully briefed on the nature and scope of Mr. Bolden’s trip,” said one of the congressmen, John Culberson (R-TX), in a 12 October letter addressed to President Obama.
Bolden has publicly stated that he intends to have discussions with senior Chinese officials, including those from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the China National Space Administration, the China Academy of Spaceflight Technology, and the China Academy of Sciences. Beyond that, his itinerary has not yet been finalized, says NASA spokesman John Yembrick.
Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA)—who stands poised to chair the appropriations subcommittee that oversees NASA spending should the Republicans gain the House—brought up similar sentiments as Culberson last week.
“It should go without saying that NASA has no business cooperating with the Chinese regime on human spaceflight,” he said in a 5 October letter to Bolden. “I need not remind you that no such planning or coordination has been approved by the Congress,” he added.
Part of the furor seems to stem from Bolden’s plan to host reciprocal tours for Chinese government officials at NASA.
In his letter, Wolf requested a detailed list of the NASA facilities that Chinese officials will be invited to visit and a summary of security precautions put in place to protect sensitive spaceflight information
Bolden replied to Wolf’s fears in an 8 October letter, saying “that under no circumstances will the visits include the conveyance of any non-public technical, operational, strategic, or classified information.” He has yet to respond to Culberson’s more recent statement.
Image: NASA