Review: "Concrete Space Colonies"

Yes, Sheppard made the argument that the automatic assumption we want to
build space habitats out of aluminum was an example of aerospace thinking.
"This thing is like a giant space ship, right? So we should build it like a
space ship, right?" And we would build a space ship out of aluminum in
order to cut down on the weight. He said we should look at it not as a
space ship but as a habitat, and as a structure which ideally should be good
for at least the better part of a century or so.

He argues why build it out of lightweight aluminum when the cosmic ray
shielding requirement results in adding the same amount of mass as we would
have wound up with if we'd built it out of concrete (more likely
sintercrete) in the first place?

Regards,

Mike Combs

From: John Frazer [mailto:johnf4303@...]

D. J. Sheppard wrote about "Concrete Space Colonies" in
Spaceflight, January 1979.
He has some really good arguments which make the concept
worth study.

He argues why build it out of lightweight aluminum when the cosmic ray shielding requirement results in adding the same amount of mass as we would have wound up with if we'd built it out of concrete (more likely sintercrete) in the first place?

Regards,
Mike Combs
From:
John Frazer [mailto:johnf4303@...]
D. J. Sheppard wrote about "Concrete Space Colonies" in
Spaceflight, January 1979.
He has some really good arguments which make the concept
worth study.