High-Tech America - Space Stations/High-Tech America - Space Stations (1995)(American MPC Research).iso/data/gcx008.doc

Text File | 1995-08-29 | 4KB | 66 lines

Future space stations have been conceived of as a means of expanding scientific research
of our solar system, tapping the mineral resources of the Moon, and constructing space-
based power satellites that could supply energy to Earth.  The challenge of building large
communities in space is considered by many to be the next logical step in the evolution of
human civilization.

In recent years, attention has been focused on returning to the Moon and establishing a
permanently manned lunar laboratory.  A simple lunar base could be constructed on the
Moon using modular capsules which would be buried under lunar soil to shield inhabitants
from cosmic radiation.  Lunar soil samples returned from the Apollo missions have been
used to make concrete; in laboratory tests, lunar concrete is twice as strong as necessary
to meet building codes on Earth.

Once a small station is set up on the Moon, humans or robots could operate a factory
manufacturing concrete or extracting minerals such as aluminum, titanium, and silicon for
use in constructing a larger lunar base or a space-based station.  Using lunar soil and
minerals for constructing a space station in high orbit would be more economical than
using Earth resources since materials from the low-gravity Moon could be launched into
space much more easily than from Earth.

An important aspect of creating a station in space is replicating the natural gravity of
Earth.   After prolonged stays in zero-g, astronauts often suffer from muscle atrophy and
bone-calcium loss which makes returning to EarthÆs one-g difficult.  To prevent problems
from living in weightlessness, a space station in the form of a sphere, cylinder, torus, or
dumbbells could be rotated to generate enough centrifugal force to mimic EarthÆs gravity.

Long-term space based life-support systems will likely use biological methods to serve a
station in space.  While NASA has focused mainly on immediately available technologies
for life support - using lithium hydroxide for removal of carbon dioxide and generating
water from fuel cells - some experiments have been conducted with algae-based systems
for  producing oxygen.  Vegetation in space stations would serve the dual purpose of
providing food as well as creating a livable atmosphere.


Life in an enclosed orbital space station has been simulated at the Biosphere 2 research
facility at Oracle, Arizona.  Inside the virtually airtight laboratory, crews of 8 people have
lived up to 2 years in an artificial ecosystem that provided them with 80% of their food
and completely recycled their waste through bacterial metabolism.  Their long-term studies
have produced a great deal of information on the replication of Earth environments in a
closed space.

People and materials will likely be transported to future space stations by a new generation
of spaceplanes that will be completely reusable.  With current space shuttles, the orbiting
vehicle is re-used but supporting launch vehicles are degraded or completely destroyed.
American, Russian, and European spacecraft engineers are planning airplane-like
transports that can take off from a runway, enter space, then re-enter the atmosphere
without wasting expensive launch equipment in the process.

The first small steps in space habitation have already been taken; Skylab, Salyut, and Mir
have led the way, producing valuable information about the dangerous perils and amazing
possibilities of stations in space.  The next step - the international space station Alpha -
will further enrich our knowledge of the universe while fostering a spirit of global
community rewarding in itself.