Long stays in space have a major hitch. Medical studies on the effects of microgravity on astronauts after many months in low-Earth orbit (LEO) cant get around one hard truth humans arent cut out for life without gravity. Thus, artificial gravity habitats are now being discussed as a crucial component of long-duration near-Earth asteroid (NEA) mining missions. <\/p>\n
Artificial gravity will be particularly important for years-long commercial missions where real-time telerobotics will need to be performed by crews housed in close proximity to the asteroid itself. Such gravity habitats would also be useful for years-long exploration of low-gravity bodies such as the Moon, Mars Mars, or eventually even the moons of the outer planets. <\/p>\n
William Kemp, a Washington, D.C.-area defense contractor, thinks he and business partner, Ted Maziejka, have come up with a design that offers a viable solution in such instances. Its a 30-meter diameter cylindrical space station, capable of creating variable artificial gravity by spinning the cylinder about its long axis. <\/p>\n
If we want to stay in space longer than a year Kemp, Founder and CEO of United Space Structures in Falls Church, Va., told Forbes. <\/p>\n
An artists concept of a cylindrical space station in low-Earth orbit (LEO) that would be capable of creating artificial gravity. Credit: William Kemp\/United Space Structures <\/p>\n
For more than three decades, Kemp has been working towards perfecting his ideas. The company is currently in the design patent-pending process and seeking funding and other partners for what would be a multi-billion dollar investment. <\/p>\n
The idea is that artificial gravity is achieved through centrifugal force which requires spinning to create a downward pressure. A small 10-meter structure could, in theory, rotate fast enough for humans to feel gravity, but Kemp says astronauts using such a structure would have horrible inner ear problems as a result. <\/p>\n
If the spin velocity were too great, your sense of balance would be thrown off and you would soon be on your hands and knees violently ill, said Kemp. However, a small cylindrically-shaped 30-meter diameter station, of the sort that Kemp is proposing, would create 0.6 gravity; the minimum needed to keep humans safely in a gravitational environment for at least two years. Astronauts would live both inside the cylinder and within the structures semi-hemisphere. <\/p>\n
Kemp says a 30-meter diameter cylindrical station would need a spin rate of 5.98 revolutions-per-minute and is the minimum useful size to create artificial gravity. A spin rate any faster would be too uncomfortable for the astronauts. <\/p>\n
The direction of the spinning cylinder is not important, said Kemp. The speed is based on the radius of the spinning object and the gravity you are attempting to achieve; the larger the radius; the slower the spin rate. <\/p>\n
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Deep Space Exploration Will Demand Artificial Gravity<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Long stays in space have a major hitch. Medical studies on the effects of microgravity on astronauts after many months in low-Earth orbit (LEO) cant get around one hard truth humans arent cut out for life without gravity Continue reading