Notional spinning artificial gravity producing AGH 1500 orbiting 600 km above the Earth's surface. Rectractable solar arrays and radiators produce power and regulate temperatures for the twin habitats.
by Marcel F. Williams
Microgravity environments are inherently deleterious to human health in space.
Weight loss, the clumping of perspiration and tears, facial and speech distortions,
a degraded sense of taste and smell, and even an increased frequency of flatulence are minor problems associated with short term exposure to a microgravity environment.
But months or years under microgravity conditions can cause much more serious problems for human health in space. Without regular exercise, 20% of muscle mass can be lost in just 12 days. 1.5% of bone mass is lost in a single month. And this bone demineralization can increase the calcium concentration in the blood stream, increasing the risk of developing kidney stones. Significant
reductions in cardiovascular fitness can also result from long periods
of microgravity conditions. Vision problems of varying degrees of
severity can occur in men in their 40s or older. And the use of
medicine can be hampered due to the changes in blood flow redistribution
under microgravity conditions.
After a few months aboard the ISS, the blood
pressure of some astronauts drops to abnormally low levels when they move from a
lying position to a sitting or standing position. Some astronauts even
have problems standing up, walking, and turning and stabilizing their
gaze.
The deployment of small habitats that are capable of spinning to produce artificial gravity could alleviate the health problems associated with a microgravity environment. Artificial gravity habitats could allow humans to:
1. Remain in orbit perpetually without the need to return to the Earth’s
surface reducing the number of launches necessary to maintain a human
presence in space
2. Remain physically healthy during long interplanetary journeys
3. Receive quality medical care while in orbit including major surgical procedures.
4. Have a permanent human presence in orbit practically anywhere in the solar system
5. Test variable levels of gravity on the health of humans and other animal species
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| Notional 10 meter in diameter AGH 1500 in launch configuration on top of the SLS compared an SLS vehicle with an EUS and 10 meter in diameter payload faring. |
An SLS Block I configuration would easily be capable of deploying a 60 tonne artificial gravity habitat to LEO. Reusable EUS derived ROTV 100 orbital transfer vehicles cold to deploy the habitat to the appropriate orbit where thrusters could rotate the structure, expanding its twin counter balancing pressurized habitats at the ends of a 224 meter in diameter boom.
Directly derived from the SLS oxygen tank architecture, each habitat would be
8.4 meters wide and 16.8 meters tall. This would allow at least five 8.4 meter in diameter habitat levels that are at
least 2.5 meters high, ten human habitat levels in total for the habitat. This should be
enough room to easily accommodate 12 to 32 astronauts and their guest within the twin
counter balancing pressurized modules. Because the combined pressurized area of the twin habitat modules exceeds 1500 cubic meters in volume, the notional artificial gravity habitat is here referred to as the: AGH 1500 (Artificial Gravity Habitat 1500).
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| AGH 1500 both contracted for trajectory burns and expanded to rotate producing 0.5g of simulated gravity |
In
order to mitigate the physiological effects of Coriolis, the habitat
would be approximately 224 meters in diameter, rotating at approximately
2rpm (two rotations per minute) to produce 0.5g of simulated gravity
(higher than the
gravity on the Moon and Mars). Slower rotations could be used to simulate the gravity on the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and Callisto, low gravity worlds that could potentially be colonized by humans someday.
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| X-Ray of AGH 1500 showing floors levels on one of the counter balancing pressurized habitat modules |
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| X-Ray of the top or bottom of the microgravity habitat area of the AGH 1500 |
Housed
within a ten meter external cylinder would create a 80 centimeter gap
between the pressurized habitat. Less than 20 centimeters of water
within an external polyethylene bag or pipes could provide astronauts
on interplanetary journeys with protection against the heavy nuclei
component of cosmic radiation and from major solar storm events while
also reducing cosmic radiation exposure in general during multi-month
interplanetary journeys.
Permanent
artificial gravity habitats located beyond the magnetosphere within
cis-lunar space and in orbit around other planets, moons, and asteroids
will have to be provided with much more shielding to protect against
excessive radiation exposure and potential micrometeorite damage. About 2
meters of lunar regolith would be required to shield the the
pressurized habitat. But less than 80 centimeters of space would be
available. However, lunar regolith is rich in much denser iron particles
that could be mined and deployed for external shielding. So only 40
centimeters of lunar iron could be used to permanently shield artificial
gravity habitats. Thorium is an even denser lunar material could also
be utilized since there appears to be substantial thorium deposits in
certain regions on the Moon.
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| SLS EUS (Exploration Upper Stage) next to a notional EUS derived ROTV 100 (Reusable Orbital Transfer Vehicle +100 tonnes of propellant) |
The
telescopic boom cylinders are approximately 5 millimeters thick (much
thicker that the fuselage for an airplane). Five cylindrical booms
would be housed within the ten meter in diameter cylinder that
accommodates radiation and micrometeorites shielding before the booms are expanded. One centimeter
would be added to the top of each cylinder in order for each segment of
the boom to securely attach to each other. So 1.5 centimeters would be
required for each cylinder. Plus you have to add a centimeter for the
boom cable that allows the boom to expand and contract. So ten
centimeters would have to be utilized for the telescopic boom. That
would allow nearly 70 meters to be used for radiation and micrometeorite shielding. But, as previously stated,
only 40 meters or less would be required to permanently shield the twin habitat modules.
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| AGH 1500 being deployed to a low Earth orbit 600 km above the Earth's surface by an EUS derivied reusable ROTV-100 |
Reusable EUS derived ROTV 100 vehicles could deploy the AGH 1500 600 kilometers to mitigate frictional drag from the Earth's atmosphere. After refueling at LOX/LH2 propellant depots, two ROTV 100 orbital transfer vehicles could deploy the AGH 1500 to various locations within cis-lunar space: NRHO, DRO, L3, L4, and L5. And twin ROTV orbital transfer vehicles could also deploy the AGH 1500 from cis-lunar space to the orbits of Mars and Venus-- allowing a permanent human presence in orbit above the surface of Mars and the clouds of Venus.
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| Twin ROTV 100 orbital transfer vehicles deploy an AGH 1500 from lunar orbit to a high Mars orbit beyond the orbit of the martian moon, Deimos |
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