Stanford torus

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Exterior view of a Stanford torus. Bottom center is the non-rotating primary solar mirror, which reflects sunlight onto the angled ring of secondary mirrors around the hub. Painting by Donald E. Davis. Stanford torus external view by Don Davis AC76-0525.jpg
Exterior view of a Stanford torus. Bottom center is the non-rotating primary solar mirror, which reflects sunlight onto the angled ring of secondary mirrors around the hub. Painting by Donald E. Davis.
Interior of a Stanford torus, painted by Donald E. Davis Stanford Torus interior.jpg
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. Stanford torus-Space Settlements-A Design Study-1977.png
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]

Contents

The Stanford torus was proposed during the 1975 NASA Summer Study, conducted at Stanford University, with the purpose of exploring and speculating on designs for future space colonies, with the conclusions and the detailed proposal being published in 1977 in Space Settlements: A Design Study book, by Richard D. Johnson and Charles H. Holbrow [3] (Gerard O'Neill later proposed his Island One or Bernal sphere as an alternative to the torus [4] ). "Stanford torus" refers only to this particular version of the design, as the concept of a ring-shaped rotating space station was previously proposed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky ("Bublik-City", 1903), [5] Herman Potočnik (1923) [6] or Wernher von Braun (1952), [7] among others.

It consists of a torus, or doughnut-shaped ring, that is 1.8 km in diameter (for the proposed 10,000 people habitat described in the 1975 Summer Study) and rotates once per minute to provide between 0.9 g and 1.0 g of artificial gravity on the inside of the outer ring via centrifugal force. [8]

Sunlight is provided to the interior of the torus by a system of mirrors, including a large non-rotating primary solar mirror.

The ring is connected to a hub via a number of "spokes", which serve as conduits for people and materials travelling to and from the hub. Since the hub is at the rotational axis of the station, it experiences the least artificial gravity and is the easiest location for spacecraft to dock. Zero-gravity industry is performed in a non-rotating module attached to the hub's axis. [9]

The interior space of the torus itself is used as living space, and is large enough that a "natural" environment can be simulated; the torus appears similar to a long, narrow, straight glacial valley whose ends curve upward and eventually meet overhead to form a complete circle. The population density is similar to a dense suburb, with part of the ring dedicated to agriculture and part to housing. [9]

Construction

The torus would require nearly 10 million tons of mass. Construction would use materials extracted from the Moon and sent to space using a mass accelerator. A mass catcher at L2 would collect the materials, transporting them to L5 where they could be processed in an industrial facility to construct the torus. Only materials that could not be obtained from the Moon would have to be imported from Earth. Asteroid mining is an alternative source of materials. [10]

Design

Chosen shape

The 1975 NASA Summer Study evaluated several options for the space habitat design, including spherical and cylindrical shapes, in addition to the toroidal one. The torus was chosen as the best option, among other reasons, because it minimized the amount of mass required to have the same area and radius of rotation. [1]

General characteristics

Components

Area and volume allocation

The circumference of the torus proper (about 5,600 m in all) would be divided into 6 sections of equal length. 3 of the sections would be used for agriculture, and the remaining 3 for residential uses. Agricultural and residential sections would alternate. A central plain would run through the full length of the torus. To gain space, structures would be terraced over the curved walls of the torus, while many commercial facilities (such as large shops, light industry or mechanical facilities) would be below the level of the central plain. According to the figures included in the study, the plain's floor would be about 1/4 of tube's diameter over the torus bottom. [1]

Non-agricultural uses

Use [1] Used land area (m²)Number of levelsTotal usable area (m²)Height per level (m)Volume (m³)Notes
Residential120,0004490,00031,470,000Including dwelling units, private exterior space and pedestrian access space. Modular housing, allowing for one-or two-level clustered homes, as well as grouped apartment buildings with 4 or 5 stories, and terraced homes taking advantage of the edges of the central plain that runs through the torus
Shops10,000223,000492,000The authors of the study determined the space use from recommendations that call for 10 shops per 1000 people
Offices3,300310,000440,000
Schools3,000310,0003.838,000With community multimedia center. The authors of the study calculated the space use for a student population of 10% of total population
Hospital3,00013,000515,00050-bed hospital with all the different needed facilities
Assembly (churches, community halls, theaters)15,000115,00010150,000
Recreation and entertainment10,000110,000330,000All commercial entertainment, including indoor activities and restaurants
Public open space100,0001100,000505,000,000Parks, zoo, outdoor recreation (swimming, golf, playgrounds)
Service industry20,000240,0006240,000Light service industry of personal goods, furniture, handicrafts, etc.
Storage10,000450,0003.2160,000Wholesaling and storage
Transportation120,0001120,0006720,00015 m width for typical streets. Ring road around the torus, at the edge of the central plain. Mass transport system consisting of a moving sidewalk, monorail, and minibus
Communication switching equipment (for 2800 families)500150042,000Communication and telephone distribution
Waste and water treatment and recycling40,000140,0004160,000Including water supply, return and recycling, and sewage treatment
Electrical supply and distribution1,00011,00044,000Including transformer substations
Miscellaneous10,000229,0003,8112,000
Total466,000-942,000-8,233,000

Agricultural uses

Use [1] Used land area (m²)Number of levelsTotal usable area (m²)Height per level (m)Volume (m³)Notes
Plant growing areas147,0003440,000156,600,00038,000 m² for sorghum (yield of 83 g/m²/day), 235,000 m² for soybeans (yield of 20 g/m²/day), 72,000 m² for wheat (yield of 31 g/m²/day), 36,000 m² for rice (yield of 35 g/m²/day), 9,000 m² for corn (yield of 58 g/m²/day), 52,000 m² for vegetables (yield of 132 g/m²/day). Part of the plant production is used to feed livestock. Sorghum is used to obtain sugar. Fruit trees are grown in parks and residential areas, providing 250 g of fruit per person each day, and serving at the same time for ornamental purposes.
Animal areas17,000350,00015750,000Stable herd of animals: 260,000 fish (0.1 m² for each one), 62,000 chicken (0.13 m² for each one), 28,000 rabbits (0.4 m² for each one), 1,500 cattle (4 m² for each one). Flexibility is allowed for other animals to replace parts of these numbers (for example, pigs would have area requirements between those of rabbits and cattle).
Food processing, collection, storage, etc.13,000340,00015600,000
Agriculture drying area27,000380,000151,200,000

Totals

Used land area (m²)Total usable area (m²)Volume (m³)Notes [1]
670,0001,552,00017,383,000Only part of the 678,000 m² of land area and 69,000,000 m³ of volume available in the torus are used

World ship proposal

In 2012 paper World Ships - Architectures & Feasibility Revisited, a generation ship (also called world ship) based on Stanford torus was proposed. Stanford torus was chosen over O'Neill colony designs because of its detailed design, that covers in depth aspects such as life support systems and wall thickness. For propulsion system, the one designed in Project Daedalus was chosen, to be used in combination with the Stanford torus. [11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Johnson, Richard D.; Holbrow, Charles (1977). "Space Settlements: A Design Study". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on 2009-12-14.
  2. ↑ Johnson & Holbrow 1977 , p. 1, "The Overall System", p. 60, Summary
  3. ↑ Johnson & Holbrow 1977 , pg VII, "Preface"
  4. ↑ O'Neill, Gerard K. (1977). The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space . Bantam Books. p. 149.
  5. ↑ Bekey, Ivan; Herman, Daniel (January 1, 1985). "Space Station and Space Platform Concepts: A Historical Review" . Space Stations and Space Platforms-Concepts, Design, Infrastructure, and Uses. American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. pp. 203–263. doi:10.2514/5.9781600865749.0203.0263. ISBN   978-0-930403-01-0.
  6. ↑ Noordung (pseudonym), Hermann (1929). Das Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums: der Raketen-Motor (PDF) (in German). Berlin: Richard Carl Schmidt & Co. pp. 136–144. ISBN   3851320603.
  7. ↑ von Braun, W. (March 22, 1952). Crossing the Final Frontier. Colliers.
  8. ↑ Johnson & Holbrow 1977 , p. 46
  9. 1 2 Johnson & Holbrow 1977 , Chap. 5
  10. ↑ Johnson & Holbrow 1977 , p. 201
  11. 1 2 Hein, Andreas M.; Pak, Mikhail; Pütz, Daniel; Bühler, Christian; Reiss, Philipp (2012). "World ships—architectures & feasibility revisited". Journal of the British Interplanetary Society. 65 (4): 119.
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