Why no wheel?
8 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Why no wheel?
by spacemonkey » Wed Dec 06, 2017 12:33 pm
Way back when I was a kid, all the science fiction books had the space station looking like a big bicycle wheel and rotating slowly to create artificial gravity. Needless to say its not how it turned out. Why not, did it make everyone puke or what? Just curious.
The hardest part of doing nothing is knowing when your done.
- spacemonkey
- Governor
- Posts: 5718
- Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:54 am
- Location: cyberspace
- Gender:
- Has thanked: 73 times
- Been thanked: 296 times
Re: Why no wheel?
by John Galt » Thu Dec 07, 2017 10:52 am
it would need to be a few football lengths in diameter in order for it to rotate comfortably at 1g. which, for what we've put up in space, is massive.
i think it's conceivable still now though, especially if we ramp up space mining, and 3d metal printing machines. if we can do the work in space that saves all the cost of lifting which is the main reason why we haven't created this. if someone wants to make a space station that is used as a terminal from LEO to the rest of the solar system, they probably will be making a spinning station. tourists/business travelers to the moon or whatever would do better with some amount of gravity.
i know in spacelab they ran circles around a module to show the premise worked, which is probably why all the scifi stories from that age had it as a common theme
i think it's conceivable still now though, especially if we ramp up space mining, and 3d metal printing machines. if we can do the work in space that saves all the cost of lifting which is the main reason why we haven't created this. if someone wants to make a space station that is used as a terminal from LEO to the rest of the solar system, they probably will be making a spinning station. tourists/business travelers to the moon or whatever would do better with some amount of gravity.
i know in spacelab they ran circles around a module to show the premise worked, which is probably why all the scifi stories from that age had it as a common theme
Americans learn only from catastrophe and not from experience. -- Theodore Roosevelt
My life has become a single, ongoing revelation that I haven’t been cynical enough.
My life has become a single, ongoing revelation that I haven’t been cynical enough.
-
John Galt - Technical Admin
- Posts: 14869
- Joined: Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:22 pm
- Location: Bowling Green Massacre Survivor
- Gender:
- Has thanked: 719 times
- Been thanked: 1497 times
- Political Leaning: Classic Liberal
Re: Why no wheel?
by The Comrade » Thu Dec 07, 2017 11:42 am
inflatable habitats will make it more feasible in the near future.
-
The Comrade - Vice President
- Posts: 18439
- Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 1:10 pm
- Location: Yugoslavia
- Gender:
- Has thanked: 1212 times
- Been thanked: 1889 times
- Political Leaning: Socialist
Re: Why no wheel?
by The Comrade » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:32 pm
her name is samantha and i love her curves
-
The Comrade - Vice President
- Posts: 18439
- Joined: Sun Aug 19, 2012 1:10 pm
- Location: Yugoslavia
- Gender:
- Has thanked: 1212 times
- Been thanked: 1889 times
- Political Leaning: Socialist
Re: Why no wheel?
by spacemonkey » Fri Dec 08, 2017 2:10 pm
The hardest part of doing nothing is knowing when your done.
- spacemonkey
- Governor
- Posts: 5718
- Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 10:54 am
- Location: cyberspace
- Gender:
- Has thanked: 73 times
- Been thanked: 296 times
8 posts
• Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 30 guests