A big country of aerospace with black technology

"Although we can't solve the core power system yet."

Zhang Xingyang pulled out two pieces of A4 paper and started discussing with Geng Bo.

"But the architectural design of large-scale space platforms can already begin."

Geng Bo: “What functions should a large space platform have?”

Prior to this, China had designed the largest and most complex space artifact, which is the Tiangong-1 core module that is still in operation.

His design also mainly refers to Da Mao’s previous design on the space station.

As for the large space platform Zhang Xingyang mentioned, they have nothing to learn from.

The design difficulty has more than doubled.

Almost an exponential increase.

"What functions do you think a large space platform should have?"

Zhang Xingyang asked rhetorically.

After thinking for a while, Geng Bo said:

"First of all, there must be different spatial divisions, such as living areas, scientific research areas, and manufacturing areas."

"Different areas implement different functions. It is best to be modular so that changes can be made easily."

Zhang Xingyang shook his head: "Modular design is not a very good idea. Modular design on the ground has many benefits, but these benefits are useless in space."

"Integrated design is better than modular design, with lower cost and more stable structure."

Zhang Xingyang changed the topic and said: "However, the division of professional areas does have merit."

"But there are some necessary things that every functional area still needs to have."

"For example, the air circulation system and water circulation system that are necessary to maintain the survival of the human body."

These have actually been reflected in past space station designs.

Now it's just a slight integration of them.

Geng Bo nodded, and then said: "Will the structure of the platform still adopt the current cabin structure?"

"Or are we going to develop a completely new structure?"

Zhang Xingyang did not answer this question directly, but asked instead:

"How many people do you think the current structural design can support to live in the space station?"

Geng Bo fell into silence.

Even in this era when aerospace technology is relatively advanced.

Those who can go to space are still a few elites among humans.

The total number of people who have entered space is less than 300.

The proportion of all human beings is not even one in a million.

The actual ratio is probably one in 20 million.

The space station with the largest human capacity ever designed can only accommodate twelve people at the same time.

And this is only a short-term accommodation.

If you are a long-term member, you can only accommodate up to six people.

"The design upper limit, without considering other factors, is probably less than twenty people."

Geng Bo spoke with some difficulty.

This is already the maximum value he can think of.

With more than twenty people, the station's air filtration system becomes unbalanced.

Without the ability to produce oxygen for so many people, the only way for everyone in the spacecraft is to die of suffocation.

"How many people will work and live in our nuclear-powered star port?"

In the previous PPT demonstration stage, Zhang Xingyang once painted a big picture for everyone in this area.

Geng Bo felt that his throat was a little dry, and after swallowing, he said:

"The initial plan is to have 150 crew members, the mid-term plan is to have 580 crew members, and the final construction target is 3,600 people."

If we look at Zhang Xingyang's ultimate construction goal, this is simply to build a city in space.

Although the population of 3,600 is not even comparable to some normal towns.

But given its location.

Once completed, it will be the most unique city in the world.

Space city!

Just with this name, it can instantly defeat all the super cities on the earth.

However, the difficulty of building such a space star port can also be seen from the number of people.

The various daily necessities needed by more than 3,000 people can make people collapse.

Adults need at least two kilograms of various foods per day to maintain their health.

Especially in space, conditions are even worse than on ships in the Age of Discovery.

In addition to the necessary intake of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, a lot of fruits are also needed to supplement various types of vitamins.

Of course, you can also take pills to supplement vitamins.

However, long-term medication supplementation may lead to psychological discomfort and even depression.

A rough calculation shows that Starport consumes nearly eight tons of food every day!

If we rely entirely on ground supplies, we really have to wait until Zhang Xingyang builds the space elevator before it is possible for such a large population to live in space.

And that's just the food aspect.

"Then what kind of design do you think can support so many people living in space?"

Zhang Xingyang continued to ask.

He was not in a hurry, and was even in the mood to pour himself a new cup of hot tea.

In fact, he can easily come up with a complete set of star port design plans.

Even for the nuclear reactor of the nuclear power star port, Zhang Xingyang was able to come up with a mature design plan.

But he doesn't want everyone to be too dependent on him.

He is like a crutch now. In the difficult times, everyone had to rely on his crutch to move forward.

But now we have actually grown a lot and can get rid of this crutch and move forward alone.

The more important reason is that Zhang Xingyang also discovered another thing.

My body started to go downhill.

Ten years ago, I just returned to this era.

He could even stay up for days and nights, just to be able to see the material take shape for the first time.

But now, after eleven o'clock in the evening, he was so sleepy that he couldn't think at all.

Although the brain is still trying to run wildly, the power supply has been unplugged and it is impossible to think at all.

This discovery even frightened him a little.

At one point I thought I might not live much longer.

In the future, the phenomenon of declining physical fitness will be insulated from humans.

The advancement of technology has not only given rise to the technology of canning the human brain.

And there are ways to keep your physical body at its peak.

Through micro-nano medical robots, the body's hormone levels, nervous system, and muscular system are maintained at their peak state.

Therefore, this kind of aging is a feeling that Zhang Xingyang has never experienced in his past career.

Therefore, we have to think about a longer-term issue.

What to do if you die.

This makes him more cautious about the development of various new technologies.

Try not to give too many technologies that are beyond the times, but guide others to think in various aspects.

"It must be possible to circulate materials on a small scale at least to be able to supply such a large number of people to live in space."

Geng Bo thought about it and said:

"For example, various vegetables and fruits can actually complete their own growth and cycle in space."

The space farming industry is actually not a particularly new thing.

Among the first crew of Tiangong-1 that just concluded, there are many related projects.

The crew successfully cultivated several different fruits and vegetables in space.

Including, green vegetables, lettuce, baby cabbage, potatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, cantaloupe, etc.

There are many varieties that have performed very well in space growth experiments.

Not only are the edible portions larger, but the sugar content is also more plentiful.

This is mainly due to the abundant light in space.

They can even keep the light on 24 hours a day if they want.

"But in this case, do we have to build a space farm in the star port? Will it not make the star port even larger?"

Zhang Xingyang asked a question here.

"We can not build the space farm within the star port, but build a dedicated space farm." Geng Bo almost blurted out.

"The transportation and transmission costs in space are still far less than launching these living supplies into space from the ground."

Zhang Xingyang smiled and said: "So now you know what our large space platform should look like?"

Geng Bo felt a glimmer of inspiration flash through his mind, and he calmed down and thought for a while before he understood.

“Versatility!”

“Large space platforms must be able to switch back and forth between various uses!”

Geng Bo said excitedly:

"We don't need to integrate all functional areas into one star port, but can disperse them and implement them through different platforms!"

Thinking of this level, Geng Bo also understood what functions a large space platform should have.

"First they need several interfaces that can connect to other platforms."

"Not only can it be used to transport materials, but it can also complete the flow of people between various platforms."

"Our current automatic docking technology can completely solve this problem."

In terms of automatic docking, we have already gained a lot of experience on Tiangong-1.

Within a few months of astronauts being in orbit, more than half of the supply spacecraft used automatic docking technology.

The success rate is 100%!

It can be said that Longguo currently ranks first in the world in terms of automatic docking technology!

"For the core cabin section, we can adopt a roller-type spacecraft design."

When Geng Bo talked about the design idea of ​​the core cabin section, he had to be a lot more careful.

Because there is no plan reference in this regard.

He could only make reference from various aspects that he had learned before.

Human beings have evolved for millions of years on an earth with gravity.

This makes it difficult for human beings to survive outside the earth's gravity environment.

After decades of space exploration, it is obvious that humans cannot naturally evolve a body suitable for space life.

In terms of biology and medicine, it is also difficult to solve the problem of human space adaptability.

Therefore, for the human body, the space life time is either very short, no more than two years.

If you stay in space for more than a year, you will basically be useless when you return to Earth.

It is difficult for the body to readjust to life in gravity.

Therefore, astronauts after the new century will generally not live in space for more than six months.

In this way, it will be easier to recover after returning to Earth.

"If you want to live in space for a long time, you must have the existence of simulated gravity. With our current capabilities, it is still impossible to directly create a gravity field."

Geng Bo expressed his thoughts.

In fact, let alone it is impossible to directly create a gravity field now.

Even in the later generations when science has experienced several major explosions, the reproduction of the gravity field is already very difficult and thankless.

"So we actually have the only way to simulate the gravity field through centrifugal force."

"When a circular wheel with a diameter of ten kilometers rotates once every 200 seconds, the centrifugal force is about the same as the earth's gravity."

"The width of the round wheel can be made very small, and a space of no more than one hundred meters is enough."

In fact, even if it is only 20 meters, it can meet the living space needs of more than 3,000 people.

The area of ​​the edge of the wheel is more than 1.5 square kilometers.

Such an area can even be said to be very empty for people today.

But considering that many of them are functional areas, it's actually about the same.

"How do you plan to launch a ten-kilometer roller-type space station into space?"

Zhang Xingyang did not directly refute anything, but asked another question.

The largest space artifact ever launched is only a few hundred meters in length.

A circular space station with a diameter of ten kilometers is simply unimaginable to people of this era.

This is already the size of the central area of ​​a large city.

No one would think this is a simple matter.

It is simply impossible to launch an integrated system directly into space.

"Perhaps we can build it in sections, like the current International Space Station?"

Geng Bo tilted his head, pointed at the ceiling and said.

"First launch the core with a small nuclear reactor, and then launch each arc-shaped module into space."

"This can also spread the risk and reduce the risk of launch to an acceptable range."

Geng Boyue said that the more he felt that the plan he came up with was still feasible.

"And this will also facilitate our later expansion, leaving enough interfaces on the ring cabin section. Subsequent outer ring construction only requires continuous additions."

"Perhaps in the future, nuclear power star ports will also have the theory of inner and outer rings, first ring, second ring, and third ring."

Geng Bo couldn't help laughing after he finished speaking.

"You are really a construction genius!" Zhang Xingyang couldn't help but say.

He is the first person to be able to apply urban construction experience to space construction.

"Although it is difficult to manufacture a curved cabin, it is not impossible with our current machining technology."

Geng Bo said and looked at Zhang Xingyang:

"So for us now, the most difficult thing to solve is the core problem of the star port."

"When the thorium-based molten salt reactor you mentioned before can be solved, then the star port can really be born."

Zhang Xingyang smiled slightly: "You first design the drum-type space station, and I will take care of the thorium-based molten salt reactor!" (End of Chapter)