“It’s about ambition, long-term thinking and instilling a sense of purpose. Such long-haul thinking does not fit in well with shorter-term Western thinking”
The Chinese space programme has been raising eyebrows again – this time because of its proposal to study how to build a large spacecraft, at least one kilometre in length.
To put that into perspective, the International Space Station (ISS) is just 109 meters across, yet it cost $150bn (£110bn approx) and took 30 missions over the course of a decade to build. China’s proposal is for a spacecraft 10 times the size of the ISS. It may sound crazy, but don’t make the mistake of dismissing it just yet.
“It’s about ambition, long-term thinking and instilling a sense of purpose. Such long-haul thinking does not fit in well with shorter-term Western thinking, which might mistakenly dismiss this as propaganda,” explains space writer Brian Harvey, author of the book China In Space: The Great Leap Forward.
この記事は BBC Earth の Volume 14 - Issue 2 版に掲載されています。
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この記事は BBC Earth の Volume 14 - Issue 2 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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