Pressuvessels and economics of the first islands in space.

>>>>Ok. My only concern with the volumetric approach is heat dissipation.
Although the volume increases with the cube of the dimensions of the
colony,
the surface increases only with the square of the dimensions.>>>>

This is really an air conditioning problem. Another potential problem
would be the buildup of CO2 within individual rooms. The easiest solution
would be to remove stale air from each individual compartment, cool it and
pass it through the agricultural rings. A water cooled system would seem to
be the easiest solution. It is reasonable to assume that one end of the
habitat would permanently face the sun, while the other is in perpetual
darkness. We would put our radiator on the dark side of the Hab. In order
to achieve a reasonable heat dissipation rate, we would probably require a
heat pump.

>>>>If you can make a "volumetric" island
one able to hold a population over 100,000 , then it is certainly better
that the original "superficial" island one for about 10,000 people.>>>>

It also reduces the scale of the project by a factor 5 or more. The
habitat can be assembled in a much shorter space of time. An individual
government, like that of Brazil, would probably want to expand its space
infrastructure as quickly as possible. The more rapidly you expand your
facilities, the harder it becomes for a potential rival to undercut your
operation. With an impatient electorate, the race is on to produce a
return before the next election. In Brazil, as in many nations, the term of
office lasts 4 years, I believe.

>>>>For a spherical colony, I think that your design with the multiple
coaxial
layered levels would be the best option. Put the commercial and residential
levels close to the equator of the sphere, and the agricultural levels
close
to the axis. (I think that plants will not care that much about lower
gravity, but people certainly will.) Of course, this design could make it
difficult (or impossible) to use reflected sunlight to lit the colony, but
then the solution would be artificial lighting.>>>>

The axis is probably about the only place where it would be practical to
use reflected sunlight. None the less, it may be easier for us to locate
the agricultural modules outside of the hab, given that they would not
require anywhere near as much shielding. A Human rated garden of some sort,
might be well suited for the central cylindrical corridor. Concentrated
light could enter the garden through circular mirror at one end of the
axis. At the other end of the axis, would almost certainly be the main
airlock. On first arrival at the station, it would certainly be much more
pleasing to be greeted by the sight of a garden, than a cold, grey
construction bay.

Tony

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