Arotating wheel space station, also known as avon Braun wheel, is a concept for a hypothetical wheel-shapedspace station. Originally proposed byHerman Potočnik in 1929,[1] and popularized byWernher von Braun in 1952.[2]
This type of station rotates about its axis, creating an environment ofartificial gravity. Occupants of the station would experiencecentrifugal acceleration, according to the following equation:[3]
where is theangular velocity of the station, is its radius, and is linear acceleration at any point along its perimeter.[3]
In theory, the station could be configured to simulate thegravitational acceleration of Earth (9.81 m/s2), allowing for human long stays in space without thedrawbacks of microgravity.[4]
Both scientists and science fiction writers have thought about the concept of a rotating wheel space station since the beginning of the 20th century.Herman Potočnik introduced a spinning wheel station with a 30-meter diameter in hisProblem der Befahrung des Weltraums (The Problem of Space Travel). He even suggested it be placed in ageostationary orbit.[1]
In the 1950s,Wernher von Braun andWilly Ley, writing inColliers Magazine, updated the idea, in part as a way to stage spacecraft headed forMars. They envisioned a rotating wheel with a diameter of 76 meters (250 feet). The 3-deck wheel would revolve at 3 RPM to provide artificial one-third gravity. It was envisaged as having a crew of 80.[2]
In 1959, aNASA committee opined that such a space station was the next logical step after theMercury program.[5] TheStanford torus, proposed by NASA in 1975, is an enormous version of the same concept that could harbor an entire city.[6]
NASA has not attempted to build a rotating wheel space station, for several reasons. First, such a station would be difficult to construct, given the limited lifting capability available to the United States and other spacefaring nations. Assembling such a station and pressurizing it would present formidable obstacles, which, although not beyond NASA's technical capability, would be beyond available budgets. Second, NASA considers the present space station, theInternational Space Station (ISS), to be valuable as azero gravity laboratory, and its currentmicrogravity environment was a conscious choice.[7]
In the 2010s, NASA explored plans for aNautilus X centrifuge demonstration project. If flown, this would add a centrifuge sleep quarters module to the ISS. This makes it possible to experiment with artificial gravity without destroying the usefulness of the ISS for zero g experiments. It could lead to deep space missions under full g in centrifuge sleeping quarters following the same approach.[citation needed]
Many fictional space stations and ships use a rotating design.
1936: InAlexander Belyaev's novelKETs Star a circular space station provides pseudo-gravity of about 0.1g by its rotation.
1958: The filmQueen of Outer Space features a rotating space station that gets blown up.
1968:Arthur C. Clarke's novel2001: A Space Odyssey was developed concurrently withStanley Kubrick's film version ofthe same name. In it, the rotating space stationSpace Station V provides artificial gravity and features prominently on the book's first-edition cover. The Jupiter mission spacecraft,Discovery One, features a centrifuge for the crew living quarters that provides artificial gravity.
1968: In the six partDoctor Who TV serialThe Wheel in Space, the titular station is the main setting of the story.
1970: The novelRingworld describes a very large, habitable structure, centered on a star.
1984: The Peter Hyams-directed film2010 features a battleship-size, Russian built spacecraft (designed by futurist artist Syd Mead), theLeonov, which has a continuously rotating central section, providing an artificial gravity for the occupants.
1985: The novelEnder's Game features a multi-ringed station called "Battle School" with varying levels of simulated gravity. As the characters move through the station towards the center, there is a noticeable decline in the feeling of gravity.
1994: The humans in the science fiction seriesBabylon 5 live in anO'Neill cylinder station using rotating sections to provide artificial gravity.Earth Alliance space stations such as the Babylon series (hence the name of the series), transfer stations such as the one at Io near the main Sol system jump gate, andEarthForce Omega-Class destroyer spaceships made extensive use of rotating sections to lengthen deployment times and increase mission flexibility as the effects of zero gravity are no longer a concern.
1999: The main story of the Japanesemanga andanimePlanetes is set in "The Seven", the seventh wheel orbital station, and a ninth is under construction by 2075. In the Zenon trilogy (Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century,Zenon: The Zequel andZenon: Z3), 13-year-old Zenon lives on a rotating space station owned by the fictional WyndComm from 2049 though 2054, but it is not designed in a way that would allow for artificial gravity through centripetal force.
2000: In the filmMission to Mars,Mars II, a NASA spacecraft hastily repurposed for a recovery mission of humanity's first mission to Mars in 2020, features a rotating crew habitat whose artificial gravitational rotation was shut down using the ship'sattitude control thrusters to allow emergency repairs to the hull following amicrometeoroid shower.
2001: In the video-game seriesHalo created byBungie, a planet-sized ring is depicted that can harbor Earth-like fauna and environments by simulating gravity through its spinning.
2003: In the re-imagined seriesBattlestar Galactica.Ragnar Anchorage is a three ringed weapons storage station, and the civilian shipZephyr is a luxury liner featuring a ringed midsection.
2007: The "Presidium" sector of the Citadel space station in theMass Effect series of video games comprises a rotating toroidal section connected to a docking ring, with five large "wards" radiating out from the central ring like a flower's petals. In addition, Arcturus Station, the human seat of government on the galactic stage (not shown in the games, but described in detail) is also mentioned as being a rotatingStanford torus.
2009: TheJaco Van Dormael filmMr. Nobody shows an alternate timeline in which the main character travels to Mars on a large space vessel that carries the passengers inhypersleep chambers lined up within two large spinning ring structures which provide artificial gravity.
2010: In theOVAMobile Suit Gundam Unicorn, the official residence for the prime minister of the Earth Federation "Laplace" was an example of Stanford torus.
2011: Most space stations in theExpanse series make use of artificial gravity by rotation, most notably Tycho Station. Even larger celestial objects likeCeres andEros have been hollowed out and spun up to generate gravitational pull for their inhabitants.
2013: TheNeill Blomkamp filmElysium has an enormous space station called Elysium (an open-roofed station 60 kilometres (37 mi) in diameter[8]) somewhere between a much-larger open-roofedBishop Ring and a smaller, fully enclosedStanford Torus.) The station in the movie supports a city and habitat for the privileged upper classes of Earth.
2014: A vessel very similar in design to the NASA-designedNautilus-X was used inInterstellar. The ship, known as theEndurance, was used as a staging station also capable of interplanetary flight.
2014: Space stations in the video gameElite: Dangerous (and itsprequels) rotate to create artificial gravity.
2015: Thunderbird 5 in theITV TV showThunderbirds Are Go features a rotating gravity ring section on the space station which features a glass floor to observe the Earth below. The series is set in the year 2060.
2015: TheNASA-designedHermes in the filmThe Martian was capable of space travel to Mars.
2018: Aplanetarium movieMars 1001 shows a fictional mission to Mars employing a rotating spacecraft.Fallout 76 includes a ruined space station that has a rotating wheel on it in a location called The Crater.
2019: The video gameOuter Wilds features multiple: the base game contains a rotating gravity wheel inside of a planet to maintain a gravitational pull within theplanet's center. The 2021 DLCEchoes of the Eye features a planet-sized, wheel-shaped starship that rotates to create artificial gravity.
2022: TheMandalorian is shown on a rotating ring with artificial gravity inThe Book of Boba Fett.
2022: The season 3 premiere ofFor All Mankind, anApple TV+ original series, depicts a space hotel with a rotating wheel for gravity generation which becomes important to the storyline after the rotating mechanism malfunctions.
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Notes: † Never inhabited due to launch or on-orbit failure, ‡ Part of theAlmaz military program, ° Never inhabited, lacks docking mechanism. | |||||||||