O'Neil cylinders

--- In spacesettlers@y..., Ian Woollard wrote:
> All habitats have to solve (roughly most important first although
they
> are all vitally important)
>
> - direction stability to keep your solar collectors working- no
energy and
> you are quickly dead

I agree, top priorities are orbital maintenance and power supply; at
this point in the list I would add "waste heat dissipation"

> - Air production
> - lighting (including seasons/day night control)
> - temperature control
> - 'weather' patterns

Weather considerations become important on a large-scale habitat like
an O'Neill cylinder, Bernal Sphere, Rama, etc., but chances are that
much smaller habitats will be built first, in the simplest design
possible - something like Space Island is likely to have tightly-
controlled "weather" in its hydroponics areas.

> - humidity control
> - water purification and sewage treatment (unless you outsource it)
> - food production (presumably, although importation is another
possibility)

Humidity control, air recycling, water purification and sewage
treatment, and food production should all be handled by the same
system, with wastes constantly being recycled in the hydroponics
area; as much as possible, a fully-contained ecosystem. We must have
learned quite a lot from BiosphereII, for instance which plants and
animals are best-suited to maintaining a complete food cycle in the
isolated environment.

> - travel to other habitats/planets (unless taxis are used)
> - communications
> - electricity
> - leakage detection and correction
> - gravity control
> - cleaning
> - cookery
> - maintenance
> - gardening/farming
> - docking ports/air locks.
> - finance
> - trade
> - defense
>
> The thing is though, although this is an impressive list, it's only
> slightly longer than the list of things I need to do to keep a
> house going, it's just on a bigger scale.
>

I think the list of things necessary for the operation of an orbital
settlement is not much different than the list necessary for the
operation of an aircraft carrier or nuclear submarine. Cost is
probably also comparable.

:) ed