Speaker 0: imagine a massive aircraft carrier, but instead of floating on the ocean, it's parking itself at the very edge of space to launch drone swarms. china has just unveiled a concept of a hypersonic mothership that looks straight out of a sci fi movie, and we need to separate the facts from the cgi. china is actively researching a space carrier, a reasonable near space platform designed to hover between the earth's atmosphere and open space. from this high altitude, it would release unmanned fighter jets capable of firing hypersonic missiles. while currently just a concept, it is making headlines because it signals a terrifying leap in the military ambition, blurring the lines between an airplane and a spaceship to dominate global warfare. what do you think about this, john? Speaker 1: this is cool. and when i started reading this, i immediately thought of the avengers helicarrier. Speaker 0: of course. Speaker 1: yeah. but, so i like this, but let's let's just set the groundwork here. okay? despite the bold visuals, if you go look at the article and stuff like that, the technology required to build or deploy such a carrier like this doesn't exist yet. sorry to to to to ruin your your hopes, but it's still cool. and i like the fact that there's this is outside of a story. like, this is something that china has kinda come up with. right? so, there's here's some of the fundamental obstacles that experts have pointed out. so the propulsion in flight dynamics. so sustaining a 120,000 ton structure at the edge of space or in orbit would require propulsion systems and fuel capacities far beyond current engineering capabilities. now i know in the past we've covered, different ion engines and different things like that. if those advance, then maybe yes. i think so. the other thing, launch and assembly logistics. so there is no launch system in operation today, not even heavy lift vehicles that could loft such a massive structure intact into orbit. so modular assembly in space is theoretically possible, but it would demand significant advancements in robotics, docking systems, and space constructions. now, again, we do have, there are some talks of the of new space stations and things like that. maybe that's gonna help. who knows? now the other thing is power cooling and defense. so that's operating at near space altitudes. so that presents challenges in energy generation, but, who knows if solar power could be enough at that height, thermal management, and protection from space debris and radiation. because we have tons of satellites up there. there's tons of space debris. there's tons of space garbage. but they can overcome all of that. they will have it. so, i like that we're covering this article because this is really, really silicon scoop future techs kind of stuff. and i like that they're thinking so big, if that makes sense. what are your thoughts? Speaker 0: i like that they're thinking so big, but, this just justifies my statement i made on the last thing we talked about, why he's putting data center elon musk is putting huge ai data centers in space because these satellites will see all this stuff coming. yeah. anyway, you mentioned it. it's a giant mothership that flies between 20 and a 100 kilometers, too high for planes, but too low for satellites and drops smaller, faster drones to do the fighting. it exploits current blind spot in defense, current air defense shoot down planes, or satellites, higher. a ship in this near space is incredibly hard to target. so the research into heat resistant materials and engines could eventually speed up the commercial air travel, london to sydney. some benefits from the technology that they're researching. expect more space force style news and increased military spending, which impacts, tax dollars. and increased militarization of this zone could threaten gps and comm satellites, our phones rely on. but, you know, based on everything, this is decades away, twenty five plus years. Speaker 1: i would say a little i would say even further. like, we're almost talking star trek kind of stuff, like like, the size that they're talking about. right? Speaker 0: yeah. it i don't think it i think it's flying at the wrong satellite. i think it would have to exist outside the atmosphere if it wanted to fly that way and stay, that way wouldn't Speaker 1: it be a spaceship then? Speaker 0: i guess so. and then i just saying because, otherwise, you're not getting the power from the sun. i guess if you're a 100% nuclear powered, maybe, but we're a ways away from that. so don't panic. treat this as comps that are not breaking a news threat. it is not operational. many experts believe this is a paper tiger propaganda designed to scare the west and boost national pride rather than imminent, weapon. the star wars comparison aren't a compliment. they imply it's just pure science fiction. so let's watch. but Speaker 1: yeah. here's the thing. here's why here's why we're talking about this. right? because if you follow our podcast, which you should go back and listen, but there are technologies being developed that are still in the lab phase that if they are scale if they become production worthy, this sky carrier could become reality. so, it's not too far fetched. it's obviously further out than most things that we cover, but there it is possible. Speaker 0: well, not only that, but i think informing people of all this stuff is cool. people wanna stay on the cutting edge, but it's also business related. when you look at this stuff and say, oh, so china's doing this and got a space carrier. so the us is gonna be spending and western companies are gonna be spending a lot more money military, on space, on that contracts will become available. what are the business opportunities for us in this space to take advantage of what's happening? like, it's looking at things like this to say, alright. that means this is, shot off the bow. other people are gonna respond with more space and whatever protection just in case it happens. so they're gonna have to do a year, fifteen year, twenty five year development of a counter weapon towards this. so that's why i'm it's like, what's the next canadian space arm? right? like, what how can we start jumping on these things when we see the spending? can we do more satellite tracking? can we do all these things, and how can canada be involved or, anybody who happens to be listening? so, i mean, it's interesting news, but it's also you know, we like to keep track of the news, but it potentially, business savvy people can take advantage of these types of things because it does impact finances across the world. Speaker 1: for sure. Speaker 0: yep. so surprising fact, we don't actually know who owns near space. international, law covers airspace for planes and outer space satellites, but this carrier operates in a legal gray zone where no treaties currently apply. so this space carrier is physically possible, but technologically improbable Speaker 1: for Speaker 0: at least another two decades. you say much longer, which is great. it's a signal of ambition, not ability. so is this glimpse of a world war three or just a very expensive publicity stunt? let us know what you think in the comments below, and don't forget to hit a follow for that reality check on future tech.