• @tronk
    link
    23 years ago

    Man, this for sure shows the technical abilities of the Chinese team behind it.

    This makes me think of Mariana Mazzucato’s work. She shows that States are the ones that drive innovation, radical innovation. Rarely is it companies, since companies have dividends to pay. On the other hand, States have missions.

    Once States have done the investment and the research, companies can come in and profit from these innovations (which opens up a debate regarding State compensation). But the hard science was done by the States beforehand.

    This is one of the reasons why Space X is not that impressive. It is standing on the shoulders of giants, and its innovation has been minimal compared to the work (think of the absurd combined budgets of the Space Race) that was necessary for Space X to exist in the first place.

    I am not saying the achievement that this short article points out is commendable (I wish that many other States have such capabilities). I am putting this achievement in a broader context.