China's development of space technology may not only be a means
to fulfill the government's space dreams - it can be used for
precision weather forecasting and pollution control, according to a
meteorological expert who works for China's manned space
program.
"The space program demands an extraordinarily high level of
precision and accuracy in weather forecasting. The information we
need to get, like wind speed, intensity, direction and cloud
formation, is very specific," Li Yonghui, director of the
meteorological station of the spaceship monitoring and recovery
unit at the Xi'an Satellite Control Center.
Li said the technology could be used in meteorological services
for large-scale events, like the Olympics. "We can forecast weather
changes for a specific stadium at specific times," he said.
The same technology can also be used in pollution control.
"For example, if we want to build a chemical plant, the
technology can be used to calculate the speed that pollutants
spread, and assess the scope of the pollution," Li said.
Xi'an Satellite Control Center is a major Chinese institution
responsible for recovering satellites and spaceships.
(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2007)