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China is reportedly working on an “ultra-large spacecraft” that would be so large it would cover entire kilometers, according to the report. South China Morning Post.
The project is still many years away, but China’s National Natural Science Foundation is calling on scientists to figure out how to build such a massive structure in orbit.
It’s a colossal undertaking – but given the tremendous strides in the country’s space program in recent years, this may be the only place that could actually succeed.
Space raft
The purpose of the gigantic structure would be to provide a platform for spending more time in space. It is one of five projects funded by the foundation, each of which will receive around $ 2.3 million, according to SCMP.
“[Such a spacecraft] is a major strategic aerospace piece of equipment for the future use of space resources, exploration of the mysteries of the universe and long-term orbiting, ”reads a preview of the foundation’s project, cited by SCMP.
Obviously, launching a spaceship of this size would be impossible on a single rocket. The diagram suggests sending separate modules into space and then assembling the massive structure into orbit.
One of the main goals of the project would be to reduce mass while making sure nothing breaks when put into orbit.
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It is an extremely ambitious project which, at least in 2021, is more or less science fiction. But if history is to be trusted, assembling larger and larger structures in orbit is indeed a possibility, as the International Space Station will prove.
Before embarking on the new project, China was already busy working on its Tiangong space station. The first main module is already in orbit, housing four Chinese astronauts – and many additional modules and crew members will follow soon.
Tiangong will have an expected mass of around 100 tonnes, or about a quarter of the ISS.
Needless to say, scaling by orders of magnitude is bound to be a tall order.
READ MORE: China plans ‘ultra-wide spacecraft’ spanning miles in $ 2.3 million crewed mission [South China Morning Post]
Learn more about the Chinese space station: New video shows Chinese astronauts in brand new space station
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