China is looking for scientists for a spacecraft project that can be up to one kilometer long

As China advances its plans to move forward with space exploration and carry out long-term manned missions, China is working on the design of a spacecraft that can be up to one kilometer long. This spacecraft will have a significant resource storage capacity, allowing it to remain in orbit for long periods, thus contributing to space exploration. The idea has been around for a few years now, and now the China National Natural Science Foundation is looking for scientists to figure out how to get such a massive structure into orbit.

The giant spacecraft proposal was made by the China National Natural Science Foundation, a research agency run by the Ministry of Science and Technology, while issuing guidelines for the first set of large projects supported during the 14th Five-Year Plan. The group has projects in different regions that will receive 2.3 million US dollars for their development; They are all very important, but what caught the audience’s interest was this large spatial structure.

The project manual describes that the giant spacecraft should be built using a modular structural design, with multiple launches and construction performed directly into space, where it would be too heavy and large to launch all at once. “[Uma nave assim] It is a great equipment strategy for the future use of space resources, exploration of the mysteries of the universe and long-term residence in orbit,” describes the project. Now, the agency is looking for scientists to study the project’s mechanics in a five-year project.

For now, the project is still a “preliminary research”, that is, it is at a stage that involves many calculations and can take a long time to get off the ground. However, some features can already be developed: the super ship will need a light hull, reducing as much as possible the number of launches for construction and the costs involved. In addition, the structure must have a controllable design, which allows to control deformation and vibration.

According to the requirements, the project cost will be about 15 million yuan, and it will have scientific goals such as proposing a new theory for lighter structures, able to meet the dynamics in orbit requirements, creating a new model from coupling dynamics to practical assembly, developing the assembly process for large space structures, among others other.

For now, this is an ambitious project of the size of a spaceship he’s proposing, and that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s impossible to implement – after all, International Space StationWith an area of ​​about 110 metres, it shows that large structures can indeed be installed in orbit. The orbital laboratory was built in partnership with 16 countries, and required 42 assembly flights; to me NASAMost of them were made by the space shuttles.

Source: 163And South China Morning Newspaper