The three types of proposed space colonies are colonies on satellites or asteroids, colonies on other planets, and entirely man-made space colonies. Science fiction writers have explored these possibilities for years, and research into space colonies experienced a resurgence in the 1960s and 1970s. Prominent designs include the Bernal sphere, the Stanford torus, and the O’Neill cylinder. Non-rotating designs are also possible, and advanced robotics could be used to maintain and create new space colonies. The creation of the first self-sustaining space colony is likely to happen before 2040, and could lead to the colonization of the entire habitable universe.
The proposed space colonies can be divided into three general categories; colonies on satellites or asteroids, colonies on other planets (although you may not consider these “space colonies,” per se), and entirely man-made space colonies.
Science fiction writers have debated these possibilities since the inception of the craft itself. For example, in 1869, Edward Everett Hale wrote The Brick Moon, a story about an artificial space station made of bricks. In 1929, Dr. John Desmond Bernal conceived of the Bernal sphere, a rotating space colony about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) in diameter, filled with air and colonized around the equator, where the rotation of the colony would create centrifugal force to simulate Earth’s gravity.
In the 1960s and 1970s, speculation and research into the possibility of space colonies experienced a resurgence, sparked by the Space Race. One of the most prominent thinkers involved in the design and defense of space colonies was Princeton physicist Gerard O’Neill, who asked the provocative question in 1969: “Is the surface of a planet really the right place for a civilization expanding technology? During the 1970s, O’Neill conducted workshops that studied several proposed space colony designs in detail. A NASA summer study in 1975 studied three major projects, dubbed Island One, Island Two, and Island Three. All three are based on the premise of a self-sustaining artificial ecology within the station, called an arcology.
Island one was the Bernal sphere, a closed design (good for radiation protection), except for the poles, which would be left open to allow the mirrors to redirect sunlight from outside into the colony. Island two was the Stanford torus, a mile-wide torus that rotated to produce artificial gravity on the inner side of the ring. The center of the torus could then serve as a convenient docking station for spacecraft approaching across the poles. Island three was the O’Neill cylinder, a rotating tube designed to hold 10,000 people. This drawing is probably the most popular space colony portrayed in science fiction.
Non-rotating designs are usually presented with the proviso that humans and our supporting ecologies can adapt or be redesigned to function in continuous weightlessness. This possibility is attractive because designs that lack the artificial gravity requirement can make more use of a given volume of space and material. Author Marshall T. Savage proposed the idea of inflatable bubbles in his book The Millennium Project, modular units that would use a skin of water to shield radiation and be linked together in vast open networks. Instead of depending on human workers for fabrication and installation, advanced space colonies could employ advanced robotics to maintain space colonies and create new ones.
It is commonly recognized that one day space colonies will be created, whether for commercial, military, economic or personal reasons. If space colonies possess the ability to produce new space colonies and travel long distances to obtain resources for this purpose, the end result could be the colonization of our entire habitable universe. This process would begin with the creation of the first self-sustaining space colony, an event that many see as likely to happen before the year 2040.
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