GeSp1718

1718

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Number: 1718 Name: TOWARD A SPACE HABITAT

Address: J.E.D.CLINE1 Date: 910701

Approximate # of bytes: 5774

Number of Accesses: 12 Library: 3

Description:

Defining a test objective for investigating long term

effects of centrifugal gravity space habitats,

using current orbiter design.

Keywords: habitat,centrifugal,toroid,shuttle,tether

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More thoughts toward a cheap space habitat:

Define a test objective of measuring the long term effect of

centrifugal artificial gravity in the free-fall space

environment on the overall functionality of humans in a

partially closed limited ecosystem, including a range of

simulated gravities up to 1 g, the effect of gradual change

of accelleration during ingress and egress to the habitat,

and effect of daily transfer between free-fall and the

artificial gravity living environment.

Here are two kinds of shuttle missions with this test

objective in mind:

The first uses a fully dedicated shuttle filght, and does

not use the ET for the habitat. It features true jogging

exercise, perhaps resembling that in "2001 Space Odessy"

fame. Our bodies are designed and built to walk & run,

invol the complex interplay of rhythmic balanced muscular

movements in coordination with visual cues as to the results

of those movements. Orbiter's cargo bay is filled with a

collapsed inflatable structure resembling a huge bicycle

tire inner tube in its shipping box. In LEO it would be

removed from cargo bay; inflated (like the bicycle inner

tube again) to create a toroidal inflated structure tube

diameter about 8 feet and circumference as big as possible

given the limits of the material & cargo bay size. Tube

walls would be pre-outfitted with necessary life support,

research equipment and stiffeners. Inflated, the structure

would be outfitted with a diameter-spanning cable along

which an electric platform moves out to the center of

rotation, providing egress/ingress to free-fall energy

level. An early upgrade might make this a pressurized tube

up to center of rotation, climbed by ladder to suit-up

chamber & interlocked hatchs for entering the free-fall

vacuum environment to tend the equipment there). Spin

structure up for various g levels for test of effects on

lifeforms. This concept would provide full circumference

jogging, providing a simulation of whole-body exercise

involving inner ear & visual feedback in that artificial

environment crucial to life in a rotating toroidal space

habitat. The winch platform out to free fall (which also is

used in the second concept to follow) would allow

measurement of the effect of daily transfer between the

accellerated living environment and free-fall, and the

effect of slowly moving along that diametrical cable on the

resultant possible vertigo- spacesickness.

The second concept requires a basic set of two shuttle

flights. The first flight would have the objective of

putting a nearly standard ET (modified only with attachment

fittings) into LEO, and allows the shuttle bay to carry

payload for unrelated experiments. The second shuttle flight

is fully dedicated to the above test objective, and you may

recognize it as a precourser to the CENTRISTASTION III

concept which was the starting point for this topic: the

primary payload is not in the cargo bay, but is a specially

designed and built habitat module created to temporatrily

serve as the external fuel tank during launch. This will

result in a minimum of free-fall manned labor for

preparation into habitat living space. This module would be

carried in the same place as the current ET is carried, and

externally would resemble the conventianal ET to maintain

known launch aerodynamic characteristics. In other words

this module would be shaped like an ET & would be used as

the fuel tank during launch of itself. However, its fuel

capacity would be reduced due to volume occupied by habitat

interior equipment, hatches, liners, etc. Designed & built

for minimum manned labor in the free-fall hard vacuum space

environment. Interior stuff limited to materials compatible

with the cryogenic temperatures of the fuel during launch,

of course. The orbiter's cargo bay would carry the long

tether and electric elevator mechanism which will travel up

and down it during daily ingress/egress between the habitat

and the center-of-rotation free-fall energy level, along

with carrying whatever provisions and equipment mass

remaining due to the reduced tank fuel capacity and

increased structural mass. In orbit, the habitat module is

decontaminated, the liner removed (if used instead of

plating everything), and then connected by the

tether/elevator assembly to the fittings on the

previously-orbited ET modified with attachment swivel

fittings (probably centerlined at the nose of the ET). The

pair of masses are then spun up. The interconnecting tether

would include a ladder structure and life support umbilical,

enabling manual egress in lightweight spacesuits to the

center of rotation, providing physical exercise and

opportunity to control rate of climb for a gradual shift

between free-fall and centrifugal gravity (use a safety

line, of course.) The tether might be 0.5 mile long,

requiring a 0.25 mile climb along a gravity gradient. Near

the center of rotation of the pair of masses, floats the

zero-g hard-vacuum procesing equipment being tended by the

workers living in the habitat module. Again, this would

discover if centrifugal accelleration alleviates bone loss

and immune system deteriaoration in space, creates a living

quarters lifestyle long-term tolerable by the average

person, tests effect of centrifugal accelleration on plants

and animals in a limited enclosed ecosystem, effect of

gradual shift between accelleration and free-fall on the

inner ear spacesickness effect, and the long-term effect of

daily shift between free-fall and artificial gravity. These

are precoursers to full-scale centrifugal-gravity space

settlements.

An Excalator Hi page titled GeSp1718 by J E D Cline started on Wednesday, April 2, 2008 5:25:07 PM US/Pacific

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