How to fill a new Habitat?

Just for kicks let's put together a hypothetical timeline for the finishing
and populating of an Island 3.

Closure Day - the last piece of outer shell is in place, sealant applied,
and atmospheric testing certifies the cylinder leak-free. The cylinder has
been under rotation for the last phase of its construction, to ease the work
of the crews. Industrial/agricultural pods are being towed into place and
attached. Solar panels have been generating energy long since, to help with
construction efforts. At this point the construction crews who will still
be around are allowed to camp out on the inside of the cylinder, in prefab
temporary quarters with self-contained atmosphere. They're grateful for
normal gravity.

CD + 1 week - sand begins to arrive in great quantities. Stockpiles of
sand, construction materials, ice, frozen gases, etc., have been arriving
piecemeal from mines in the asteroid belt and elsewhere for some time. Ice
and frozen gases have to pass through a processor, basically a giant
distillery, to remove impurities. The finished product is piped into the
cylinder, the water into holding basins.

CD + 1 month - construction of permanent buildings on the inside of the
structure can begin. Landscaping can begin in earnest, mostly by roughly
sculpting with rock and sand as under-layers. Most of the completed
agriculture pods are busy with accelerated composting processes, which when
added to the sand will result in a tolerable imitation of topsoil for the
cylinder. This process will actually require several years to complete.
The first few permanent residents, those with tasks like running the water
and sewage system, electrical, transportation, or other systems, are allowed
to move in.

CD + 6 months - atmospheric pressure inside the cylinder is up to near
normal levels, although the composition still needs adjusting. Construction
crews take down the temporary quarters, and oxygen masks are required only
when doing heavy physical labor. Crews move into some of the completed
permanent structures for their last few weeks or months on board.

CD + 12 months - Opening Day. Approximately 10% of the habitat's surface
has reached completion, the landscape is green in places, bodies of water
are mainly in place, doves are released to the cheers of the crowd. Food
production has begun to ramp up. Most of the construction crews are gone,
except for those doing landscaping, or building structures and
transportation grids. The industrial base that will provide jobs for the
permanent residents is almost complete. Savvy to the market forces of the
new orbital economy, the planners have built a diverse economy of raw
materials production (oxygen cylinders, water, topsoil), electronics, and
delicacies like wine and beef.

Over the next 5 years, more acreage is opened up, and a carefully planned
buildup of residents takes place, in stages. Schools and shops open, sports
leagues are organized, things get down to normal. Aware that populations
have a way of growing when life is so good, planners politely stop
immigration when the cylinder reaches 1/3 its ultimate capacity; only family
can immigrate now, unles population should trend downward for some reason.
No one wants to see draconian measures put in place to keep the cylinder
liveable, and an important task for some citizens is to carry out the
planning for financing and building the next cylinder up the orbital street,
to house the grandkids of this cylinder's current residents.

Brad

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