Chapter 1279 (1/2)

A newspaper, the cover is the blue earth.

Below the earth is a hand from the dark, and this hand is holding the whole earth steadily.

A face could be seen through the darkness.

The face was young, and there was nothing else. However, even the most blind person in the world will not feel strange to this person after seeing this face As long as he's not out of touch with the times.

The news headline at the bottom of the picture uses a very ambiguous question:

who will dominate the next century? 》

and now, this paper is lying on the table in the White House president's office with many similar papers.

”What do you think?” Sweeping the newspaper off the table and rubbing her sour eyebrows, Hillary looked at her chief of staff, ”that special envoy starship.”

“……”

Instead of speaking, the chief of staff, together with defense minister Carter, looked silently at Bolden standing beside him.

Seeing everyone looking at him, Bolden took a deep breath and said stiffly.

”Our scientists have solved the problem of designing counterweights for large space stations. Now the only problem is materials.”

”How long can it be solved?” Hillary looked at Bolden and asked.

”A conservative estimate of 20 years, but it may be a little longer...” Said Bolden, somewhat embarrassed.

”It's not the same as you said last time.” Carter looked at Bolden, and his tone was somewhat aggressive. ”Half a month ago at the meeting, you said that the space elevator problem could be solved by 2040 at the latest, and that at least one elevator to synchronous orbit could be built for the United States.”

”It's not entirely our fault.” Bolden argued, ”if it had not been for the cancellation of the joint research and development agreement with us by Dalin construction company, the time would have been cut by at least half.”

”Dalin construction?” Hillary frowned and looked at the silent Secretary of state Kerry. ”I think I heard that name somewhere.”

”The company controlled by Sumitomo Group of Japan announced in 14 years that it will complete the space elevator in 2050. Reliable information indicates that they have been engaged in relevant technology research as early as 2010.” Kerry pauses for a moment, looks at Bolden incomprehensibly, and frowns slightly. ”I remember that the Sumitomo consortium has been actively involved in our international space station program, and has worked closely with NASA and SpaceX for a long time. Why...”

”It's star ring trade,” Bolden said. ”They convinced them to give up the space elevator initiative. What kind of promise did 80% give? You know, Dalin group's main business is construction. Maybe the ring trade contracted out projects on Mars or the moon to them? Anyway, now they have paid the penalty voluntarily. ”

”These damn white eyed wolves...” Carter said in a low voice.

”They have always been white eyed wolves. We should have been prepared.” Kerry said with a sigh.

Seeing no one to speak, Bolden coughed gently and added.

“…… Fortunately, we have found a home, and now we are working with Thoth technologies in Ontario, Canada, whose pressurized section tower design could reach 20 kilometers three years ago. As long as high-strength graphene materials make a breakthrough, we still have a good chance. ”

But the trouble is in high-strength graphene.

As we all know, there are many kinds of graphene materials. It is similar to steel. Although it is also called steel, the properties of steel produced by different materials, forging processes and temperatures are very different.

So is graphene.

Although star ring trade has registered nearly 100 patents for nearly ten kinds of graphene materials, such as semiconducting type, it is very strict for graphene materials related to aerospace and military fields. Not to mention the registration of patents, even if the export of finished products are very few, basically self-produced and sold.

The atmosphere in the office fell into silence.

Graphene.

It's this damn graphene again.

No one thought that the thing that two pieces of transparent glue could stick out would defeat a superpower.

”No good news?” Carter asked with difficulty.

If we want to say who is under the greatest pressure from the construction of the special envoy starship, it is undoubtedly the Secretary of defense.