zlacker

>>rbanff+(OP)
This space race is different for one core reason: China is more stable than the Soviet Union was in the 1960s.

If we beat the Chinese somehow, I don't think they'll just dismantle their space program and focus on Earth. They'll keep going, and they have the economic base to expand their program.

I think we're seeing the beginning of a new kind of space race. It's likely to be much longer term and grander in scale over time, as we compete for the best spots on the Moon and the first human landing on Mars in the decades to come.

>>hdivid+ef
> China is more stable than the Soviet Union was in the 1960s

Xi literally just purged “the country’s top military leader, Gen. Zhang Youxia, and an associate, Gen. Liu Zhenli” [1].

This is the mark of a dictator. Not the Soviet Union at its finest.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/03/us/politics/china-xi-mili...

>>JumpCr+Jf
btw just for comparison over in the US

Trump has purged dozens of Generals, the head Admiral of the Navy and Coast Guard, head of NSA and Cyber Command and many other top-level officials in the military

and there are only 1,000 women in various special forces (had to pass same physical tests as men) but he is trying to get rid of them all too

Now that is the mark of dictator, agreed

>>ck2+oi
Trump was elected by the people of the United States. Twice. Soundly. Not a dictator.

Xi was never elected to his position by the people of China.

Being a bad president isn't the same thing as being a dictator.