Theoretical Space Station Design 1

[junfanbl]

Hello,

I am hoping to get some feedback from the engineering community on some design ideas. I am putting together some theoretical designs for a futuristic space station. The design isn't for engineering purposes (obviously), but it is to showcase the station in a high quality render. I am going to be using Maya to create and texturize the models and Unreal Engine 4 to put the render together. While the design will be science fiction in nature, I still want it to be based on some elements of reality. Typically if your designs are based on real world reference they turn out better.

Some thought provoking questions I have are:

What energy source does the station run on (can be theoretical)?

What back-up energy sources can be used if the main source fails?

How does the station produce a renewable source of oxygen, gravity and simulate an earth like atmosphere?

How would the station handle debris in Space? This would be problemtic (and I imagine that it is) because anything of proportional size could easily destroy structure.

I am just trying to get some good ideas that will impact my design. Thanks for any input.

 

[rb1957]

"lunacy" or "just very difficult" ?

Not so long ago a plane the size of an A380 would have been considered "lunacy".

Conceptually you could mine material on the moon, maybe produce finished structural elements, which you'd then launch (or maybe use a lunar space elevator, which is much easier than a terrestrial one) to your station. You could have testing machines (on the moon or in orbit) to prove the components.

another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?

 

[IRstuff]

"could" is very different than "should." There were probably hundreds if not thousands of technicians that worked on just the fabrication of the Space Station. That's a lot of astronauts and training, lift vehicles, and overhead, like food, water, air, sleeping accommodations. Going to the Moon, mining raw materials, smelting them, machining them, etc., is definitely lunacy. Not to mention the fact that it's highly unlikely that the CNC mill at Boeing Huntington Beach could even fit on a rocket, much less survive the launch shock. There were at least a couple of small buildings at HB that were fully dedicated to the one Space Station module assembled there. We're talking hundreds of thousands of pounds of equipment that all need to lifted to build something that weighs less than the weight of all the hardware required to build it.

When I put on my Asimov glasses, yes, I could see that happening, but the reality is that the OP is basically talking about creating a cartoon, albeit, highly detailed and rendered, but not actual flight hardware. We can just barely manage to sustain a handful of astronauts in permanent orbit as it is

TTFN
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[rb1957]

refer to the word "futuristic" in the OP ...

Before you consider using on-orbit manufacturing you have to develop the system. ie ...
1) a permanent (or very long term) lunar habitat,
2) either precursor development of in situ manufacturing, or develop after initial moon base.

we've also talked about a space elevator ... certainly several decades in the future.

i've talked about in situ resource creation ... getting O2 and H2 from ice on the moon.

and to think a huge issue is space junk ! as well as meteorites.


another day in paradise, or is paradise one day closer ?

 

[KENAT]

Meh, it's easy you just need to launch a giant 3D printer with a few spindles of different material.

Being in space oxidization of the metals will be a non issue (assuming fairly high orbit) so you'll be able do 'fdm' using metallic material.

Problem solved.

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[KENAT]

Actually, the 3D printer may not need to be that giant depending on schedule. However, the spools will need to be pretty big.

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[btrueblood]

Or just one long spool, on the ground, and feeding upwards?

 

[tbuelna]

The inflatable modules being developed by Bigelow Aerospace are interesting. The technology is already fairly well developed and seems like it can be scaled up to large sizes.