China is investigating how to build an ultra-large spacecraft that is up to 0. 6 mile （1 kilometer) long. But how practical is the idea?
The project is part of a wider call for research proposals from the National Natural Science Foundation of China, a funding agency managed by the country's Ministry of Science and Technology. A research outline posted on the foundation's website described such enormous spaceships as “major strategic aerospace equipment for the future use of space resources, exploration of the mysteries of the universe, and long- term living in orbit”。
The foundation wants scientists to conduct research into new, lightweight design methods that could limit the amount of construction material that has to be thrown into orbit, and new techniques for safely assembling such massive structures in space. If funded, the practicability study would run for five years and have a budget of 15 million yuan ($2.3 million).
The project might sound like science fiction, but former NASA chief technologist Mason Peck said the idea isn't entirely off the wall, and the challenge is more a question of engineering than fundamental science. “I think it's entirely practical,” Peck, now a professor of aerospace engineering at Cornell University, told Live Science. “I would describe the problems here not as unconquerable obstacles, but rather problems of scale. ” By far the biggest challenge would be the price tag, noted Peck, due to the huge cost of launching objects and materials into space. The International Space Station （ISS), which is only 361 feet (110 meters) wide at its widest point according to NASA, cost roughly $ 100 billion to build, Peck said, so constructing something 10 times larger would strain even the most generous national space budget.
Much depends on what kind of structure the Chinese plan to build, though. The ISS is packed with equipment and is designed to accommodate humans, which significantly increases its mass. “If we're talking about something that is simply long and not also heavy then it's a different story,” Peck said.
【小题1】Which of the following statements about the massive spacecraft is TRUE?| A．The design of the spacecraft has already been in place. |
| B．It is directly led by the Ministry of Science and Technology. |
| C．It is aimed at further exploring the space and human's future. |
| D．A lot of research has been conducted regarding the spacecraft. |
| A．The requirements of the practicability study. |
| B．The new approach to construction material. |
| C．How to get funded by the Foundation. |
| D．The revolutionary methods of constructing the spacecraft. |
| A．There are still major doubts about the practicality of the spacecraft. |
| B．The structure of the spacecraft may determine the cost of the project. |
| C．The ISS has already successfully completed its historical mission. |
| D．The project and the current ISS are likely to have a lot in common. |
| A．The problems facing the construction of the spacecraft. |
| B．Future researches into the other giant space projects. |
| C．Other approaches to reducing the cost of the spacecraft. |
| D．The future promising application of the spacecraft. |
