"So we need to expand into new businesses." Xie Yuanxun said, "Just doing suborbital Space Travel lasting a dozen minutes or so is far from enough. We have to develop long-duration Space Travel."
Song He caught on. "Don't tell me you're planning to build a Space Station?"
"More precisely, a Space City." Xie Yuanxun said seriously. "One large enough to accommodate 800 people."
Song He and Xiang Xiaotong were dumbfounded. Their mouths fell slightly open, as if they were listening to some fantastical myth.
"Old Xie, that's more than a little delusional." Song He suspected he was joking.
Xie Yuanxun took a foldable phone from his pocket, unfolded it into a large screen, tapped a few times, and handed it over.
Song He took his phone. A sketch of a Space City was displayed on it, with intricate designs and an enormous scale!
"Swipe further. There are lots of plans." Xie Yuanxun said.
Song He flipped through the photos, and designs for Space Cities in all kinds of shapes appeared.
Xie Yuanxun explained from the side, "The Ring-shaped Space City and Barrel-shaped Space City were the initial plans. Easy enough to understand, right? Even high school students know why. Most science-fiction movies use Ring-shaped or Barrel-shaped Space Cities too."
"But after studying the plans in depth, we discovered that with the current level of materials science, Ring-shaped and Barrel-shaped Space Cities aren't economical enough. The ring itself would serve as the load-bearing structure, and building such enormous airtight living cabins would make construction far too difficult."
"We also worked with experts from the Aerospace Sector and designed the Chain Structure. Yes, this one! The cost is only three or four times that of an existing Space Station. It can create a low-energy gravity residential area and meet the needs of