According to an article at physorg.com, China is beginning work on a space station starting with this first module. Now, this doesn't mean China will be conquering space before Christmas. This first module is just for practice. The real station goes up in 3 parts starting in 2020.
Yeah, it seems like a pretty unimpressive start to the Second Space Race, but hey, the First Space Race started with the Russians tossing a 2-foot-diameter mirror ball into orbit in 1958. Consider that the first serious attempt at a space station, Skylab, wasn't until the 70s and Mir didn't go up until the 80s. So, 8 years to launch the first third of a space station is actually pretty damn fast.
Of course, Americans won't have anything in space in 8 years because we put our economy in front of the advancement of human kind and, apparently, the spread of communism into space.
I swear, if, in 2030, we've got Space Commies to deal with, I'm blaming Obama!!
