angular momentum & axis alignment

From: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of joe@...

> I know that you can't easily change the axis of such a system,
> but is it feasible to keep it pointed at the Sun throughout its
> orbit?

I think it isn't so much the magnitude of the force that's such a big
deal, but that it's needed continuously. Providing a thrust 24/7 year
after year is the killer.

> I believe some of the early designs assumed exactly this
> arrangement, but I'd still like to make sure this isn't a problem.

I'm pretty sure that all of the peer reviewed designs had a
counter-rotating mass (either another habitat, as in the case of the
O'Neill Cylinders, or the radiation shield, as in the case of the Bernal
Sphere) or got around the problem entirely by placing the rotational
axis perpendicular to the plane of orbit and getting the sunlight in
with a oval-shaped mirror at a 45 degree angle.

Regards,

Mike Combs