Phys.org September 1, 2021
Among the many proposals the country’s leaders are considering for its latest five-year plan, one involved creating an ultra-large spacecraft spanning kilometers. According to the project outline the spacecraft elements will be built on Earth and then launched individually to orbit to be assembled in space. They specify that this spacecraft will be a major strategic aerospace equipment for the future use of space resources, exploration of the mysteries of the universe and staying in long-term. There is a great deal of skepticism about this proposal. It would take an enormous number of launches to deploy all the necessary elements to space. For comparison, the International Space Station (ISS) it took 42 assembly flights to deliver these elements over many year at a considerable cost. The ISS measures 109 meters (356 ft) from end to end, whereas the proposed Chinese platform calls for a structure at least 20 times that size. Based on the roughest of estimates, it would be safe to say that a spacecraft spanning kilometers would cost upwards of $3 trillion…read more.Â