China’s space station to help maintain co-orbital telescope Van der San pays the price for having short fuse
Eugene van der San is no longer the minister of Justice and Police (Juspol). The man who is said to have a short fuse or short temper also served as the nation’s Juspol minister for a short time. President Desi Bouterse reportedly had a meeting with his policy advisors where it was concluded that it was time to give Van der San the boot after two months.
The accusations regarding safety advisor Melvin Linscheer’s involvement with opposition leader Chandrikapersad Santokhi were the last drop that made the cup run over. Van der San on Monday held a press conference where he made the serious accusations. The Office of the President issued a statement, indicating that the suspicions were blunt remarks and not based on the truth.
As a result of the situation that was created by Monday’s press conference, President Bouterse on Tuesday held consultations with Vice President Ashwin Adhin, chairwoman of Parliament Jenny Simons, NPD faction leader André Misiekaba and Attorney General Roy Baijnath Panday at the Presidential Palace.
During a private meeting President Bouterse reportedly asked Eugene van der San to resign from office. Political sources told Times of Suriname that Van der San fell into disfavor with the president on June 1 after having come into collision with Parliament. Van der San also infuriated legislators from the coalition when he got into an argument with MP André Misiekaba, leader of the NDP faction in Parliament.
As a result of the squabbling the session was adjourned. The former minister also got into a squabble with members of the opposition. Van der San reportedly sealed his fate with Monday’s press conference where he strongly criticized Linscheer, MP Santokhi, the attorney general and his brother, Armand van der San. BEIJING - China will develop and launch a twometer-caliber space telescope, which will share the same orbit with the country’s future space station, said Yang Liwei, deputy director of China Manned Space Agency. The telescope will dock with the co-orbital space station for refueling as well as maintenance and exchange, Yang revealed at the ongoing Global Space Exploration Conference (GLEX 2017) which began Tuesday in Beijing. Used for large-scale, multi-color imaging and seamless spectroscope surveying, the space telescope is expected to provide observation data for astronomical and physical studies, said Yang, who is also China’s first astronaut. China will launch the core module of the country’s manned space station in 2019 as the first step in completing the country’s first space outpost. The station, expected to begin operation by 2022 and orbit for at least 10 years, will be composed of three modules: core module, experiment module I and experiment module II. Each module will weigh more than 20 tonnes and together the three will be structured in a T shape, with the core module in the middle and an experiment module on each side.
The three modules will be equipped with advanced multipurpose facilities for scientific experiments in many fields, including space life science and biotechnology, microgravity fluid physics and combustion, and material science in space, Yang said. With the International Space Station set to retire in 2024, the Chinese space station will offer a promising alternative, and China will be the only country with a permanent space station. The station, orbiting 340 to 450 kilometers above the Earth’s surface, will usually accommodate three crew members, with a maximum crew capacity up to six during rotations, Yang said. The crew will be transported to the station by Shenzhou spaceships, and airtight cargo, large extravehicular payloads and experiment platform will be delivered by cargo ships, he said. China sent its first cargo spacecraft Tianzhou-1 into space in April. Cargo ships will be sent to help maintain a space station.
(Xinhuanet.com)