"150,000 tons..." Xiang Xiaotong drew a soft breath, "You're building something this big in one go? Why not build a 10,000-ton one as a transition first?"
"There are those. We have hundred-ton boats, thousand-ton warships, and ten-thousand-ton battleships. But they aren't worth showing to the two of you. Top mathematicians should only do top-level work," General Wang said.
"We've drawn up a preliminary standard for space battleships. From smallest to largest, they're Satellite-class, Planet-class, and Star-class, with tonnage standards of 50,000 tons, 500,000 tons, and 5 million tons respectively."
"The Moon Battleship is Satellite-class. As the name suggests, it's meant to travel between planets and satellites. Planet-class ships will reach over 500,000 tons, enough to meet the needs of large-scale troop movements between Earth and Mars. Star-class ships may exceed 5 million tons, traveling from one star to another. That class is still a fantasy for now. The technological gap is too vast, and the cost is astronomical. We probably won't live to see one."
"Of course, these are only preliminary classifications. Once technology develops, it's hard to say whether space battleships will grow larger or smaller. We'll take things one step at a time," General Wang said. "This time, we're asking the two of you to inspect the Moon Battleship. If we build a Planet-class battleship in the future, we may need to experiment with an artificial ecosystem inside the ship. We'll need your help then as well, or we may send some children from the Genius Institute to do it."
Song He and Xiang Xiaotong nodded repeatedly as they listened to General Wang's explanations and examined the documents in their hands.
"The components and raw materials will be packed on Earth and sent into space in over a thousand launch missions. The Space City's Ship Factory will then