The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was an entry-level approach to coordinating human spaceflight between these two nations. Since then, Russia and the USA have escalated their cooperation in space, to the point where their human spaceflight activities are intertwined through the International Space Station.

Could a mission similar to Apollo-Soyuz be flown by the Chinese and the Americans? It's difficult to predict how, when, or if such a flight could occur, but there is certainly enough justification to consider the possibility.

China will soon launch its second Shenzhou mission, and is expected to demonstrate rendezvous and docking in the near future, possibly on Shenzhou 7 or 8.

At the same time, the USA is quickening its plans to deploy a new Crew Excursion Vehicle, which will support missions to Earth orbit and beyond.

At some point in the next few years, the CEV and Shenzhou will both have a track record of performing extended missions with rendezvous and docking. Docking systems are becoming standardised.

In theory, it should be possible to arrange a rendezvous in orbit between a NASA Crew Excursion Vehicle and a Chinese Shenzhou.

What could prompt such a flight? China has been making overtures to NASA and the US government, hoping to link its own human spaceflight program with international partners.

China seems interested in joining the International Space Station program, but it is not clear if this will be permitted by the USA or its international partners.

Relations between China and the USA experience regular periods of antagonism, and tensions over potential flashpoints such as Taiwan and North Korea will continue to plague their relations.

Concerns over "technology transfer", or espionage, that could result from interacting with China are also prominent, and have seriously compromised space-related dealings with China in the past.

These issues mean that a complex, long-term endeavour such as adding another partner to ISS would be difficult. But a simple, one-off mission could be easier to plan. A Shenzhou/CEV rendezvous would require no consultation with other ISS partners.

The mission could be flown over roughly one week, and would probably not require much in the way of new hardware or mission profiles from either side. Apollo-Soyuz required a complex Docking Module to allow the spacecraft to rendezvous with different docking systems and cabin atmospheres.

Presumably, there would be more standardisation in this regard between the CEV and Shenzhou.

A Shenzhou/CEV rendezvous would thus be a "toe in the water" approach to including China as a partner in international space activities. It would allow administrative structures to be set up and tested for a modest mission. Afterward, further interaction could take place, if budgets and politics permit it.

Future missions that could build on a simple rendezvous could involve Shenzhou and CEV operations that include additional modules. China is known to be developing a small "space laboratory", which could support short visits by crews.

A similar habitation module has also been proposed for the CEV. An extended mission on board a miniature Chinese-American space complex could be possible by using one or both.

Plans for the CEV have yet to be fixed, and it seems that China is also still tinkering with some design aspects of Shenzhou. Perhaps the possibility of such joint operations should be considered in the ongoing development of both vehicles.

One potentially useful outcome could be space rescue, where a vehicle from either nation could be launched to recover the crew of another.

Dr Morris Jones can be contacted at morrisjonesNOSPAMhotmail.com. Replace NOSPAM with @ to send email.

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