Space agency chief, Mike Griffin, is heading off to China to get a first-hand look at that country’s space program. The trip is now slated for late September, but no official agenda has been set, nor are stops where Griffin will visit finalized.

China is the third nation to have independent ability to launch humans into Earth orbit. The Griffin trip is getting mixed signals from politicos up on Capitol Hill. Some lawmakers are against it, others see it as space bridge-building.

For those favorable to the flight of the Griffin, possible cooperative avenues with China include joint Earth remote sensing observation work, exchanges of space science data, International Space Station involvement, even thinking about joint docking of spacecraft in the future.