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This topic is inspired by a talk given for the North Houston chapter of the ISS on 2025/09/13.
Post number 3 of this topic will include a report by Google about concurrent rings ...
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Post #3: Google summary of references to concurrent rotating habitat rings.
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This post contains a report by Google about the idea of arranging habitat rings inside each other.
AI Overview
Concentric, rotating space habitats are a proposed concept for space travel, though few concrete design examples exist in the public domain. The primary challenge for this type of design is managing the physics of two independently rotating rings, which includes the Coriolis effect and the need for a non-rotating central axis.
One notable example is the proposed Gateway space station, which would use concentric rings to simulate different gravity levels. Gateway Foundation's space station design The Gateway Foundation, which is involved in space station development, has proposed a design featuring concentric rings to provide varying levels of artificial gravity.
Outer Ring: Would rotate to simulate the gravity of Mars (38% of Earth's gravity).Inner Ring: Would rotate to simulate the gravity of the Moon (16.5% of Earth's gravity).
Purpose: This configuration would allow astronauts to acclimate to a lower-gravity environment before landing on the Moon or Mars. Design challenges and considerations Designing a space habitat with one rotating ring inside another presents unique challenges: Different rotational speeds: To create different levels of artificial gravity, the inner and outer rings must rotate at different speeds. The speed at which each ring must spin is determined by its radius (\(r\)) and the desired gravitational acceleration
(\(a\)), according to the formula:\(v=\sqrt{a\cdot r}\)
where \(v\) is the linear velocity at the edge of the ring.Transfer between rings: Moving people and goods between rings spinning at different speeds requires a specialized transfer mechanism, potentially using a pressurized car on a track that can spin up or down to match the speed of either ring.Non-rotating central hub:For docking and zero-gravity activities, a non-rotating central hub is necessary. The different rotating rings would need to connect to this hub using a complex system of bearings and airlocks, with an effective sealing system to prevent atmosphere loss.Minimizing the Coriolis effect: The Coriolis effect causes objects to deflect from a straight path within a rotating reference frame. The rate of rotation must be carefully managed to minimize this effect, which can cause motion sickness and make simple tasks difficult. The larger the diameter of a rotating habitat, the slower it can spin to achieve a certain gravity, which reduces the Coriolis effect.
Examples from science fiction The concept of nested rotating rings is more prevalent in science fiction than in official design proposals, and it has inspired several notable concepts: Babylon 5: The Babylon 5 space station is an example of a station with rotating sections. While its design is more of a counter-rotating cylinder, it illustrates the engineering principle of using rotation for artificial gravity.The Foundation series: In Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, nested rotating habitats are used to create artificial gravity. The inner ring could provide a lower gravity environment for training, while the outer ring could provide a higher gravity environment for daily living.
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Nice html and the brackets from the copy paste of the AI outputted page.
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