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A Stanford torus interior (cutaway view) Interior view of a large scale O'Neill cylinder, showing alternating land and window stripes. A space settlement (also called a space habitat, spacestead, space city or space colony) is a settlement in outer space, sustaining more extensively habitation facilities in space than a general space station or spacecraft.
Interior of a Stanford torus, painted by Donald E. Davis Collage of figures and tables of Stanford Torus space habitat, from Space Settlements: A Design Study book. Charles Holbrow and Richard D. Johnson, NASA, 1977. The Stanford torus is a proposed NASA design [1] for a space settlement capable of housing 10,000 to 140,000 permanent residents. [2]
An O'Neill cylinder (also called an O'Neill colony, or Island Three) is a space settlement concept proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space. [1] O'Neill proposed the colonization of space for the 21st century, using materials extracted from the Moon and later from asteroids. [2]
Example layout for an Island One-type Bernal sphere. In a series of studies held at Stanford University in 1975 and 1976 with the purpose of speculating on designs for future space colonies, Dr. Gerard K. O'Neill proposed Island One, a modified Bernal sphere with a diameter of only 500 m (1,600 ft) rotating at 1.9 RPM to produce a full Earth artificial gravity at the sphere's equator.
The Outer Space Treaty established the basic ramifications for space activity in article one: "The exploration and use of outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, shall be carried out for the benefit and in the interests of all countries, irrespective of their degree of economic or scientific development, and shall be the ...
A contemporary NASA team estimated that a 500,000-tonne colony would cost US$5.1 billion (equivalent to US$32 billion in 2023) to build. [4] O'Neill proposed manufacturing large cylinders or spheres as colony habitats, while others proposed an enclosed torus shape or a huge ring without a "roof".
He explored the possibilities of flying gliders inside a space colony, finding that the enormous volume could support atmospheric thermals. [27] He calculated that humanity could expand on this man-made frontier to 20,000 times its population. [28] The initial colonies would be built at the Earth-Moon L 4 and L 5 Lagrange points. [29]
Like other space habitat designs, the Bishop Ring would spin to produce artificial gravity by way of centrifugal force. The design differs from the classical designs produced in the 1970s by Gerard K. O'Neill and NASA in that it would use carbon nanotubes instead of steel, allowing the habitat to be built much larger.