In the 1970s visionary habitation ideas were neither limited to the earth or to architects. Gerard K. O’Neill (1927 – 1992) was a physicist, writer, and space activist who advocated human settlement in outer space. During his professorship at Princeton University and his time as a researcher for NASA, O’Neill devised a plan for space colonisation, which was published in his 1977 book, The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space.
His masterplan consisted of three megastructure habitats or “orbital settlements”, each constructed from 10 million tons of material that would be mined from the Moon. A modified sphere, a ring-shaped torus and a cylinder were each designed to rotate, creating artificial gravity via centrifugal force. The interior landscapes, resembling large valleys, were to provide living and recreational space for human settlements of up to 10,000 people. A system of mirrors would direct sunlight into the interior and to generate solar power and greenhouse agriculture. In 1966 O’Neill applied for the Astronaut Corps, hoping to fulfil his dream of going into space, but unfortunately was turned down by NASA. But in honour of his contribution to the space programme, in 1997 a portion of his ashes were taken aboard the Pegasus XL rocket and buried in space.
In addition to his visions for space colonisation, O’Neill was a pioneer for early technologies that led to the development of satellite GPS, wireless technology, and the electromagnetic high-speed rail. (ssl)
In the 1970s visionary habitation ideas were neither limited to the earth nor to architects. Gerard K. O’Neill (1927 – 1992) was a physicist, writer, and space activist who advocated human settlement in outer space. During his professorship at Princeton University and his time as a researcher for NASA, O’Neill devised a plan for space colonisation, which was published in his 1977 book The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space.
His masterplan consisted of three megastructure habitats or “orbital settlements”, each constructed from 10 million tonnes of material that would be mined from the Moon. A modified sphere, a ring-shaped torus and a cylinder were each designed to rotate, creating artificial gravity via centrifugal force. The interior landscapes, resembling large valleys, were to provide living and recreational space for human settlements of up to 10,000 people. A system of mirrors would direct sunlight into the interior to generate solar power and greenhouse agriculture. In 1966 O’Neill applied for the Astronaut Corps, hoping to fulfil his dream of going into space, but unfortunately was turned down by NASA. Yet in honour of his contribution to the space programme, in 1997 a portion of his ashes were taken aboard the Pegasus XL rocket and buried in space.
In addition to his visions for space colonisation, O’Neill was a pioneer for early technologies that led to the development of satellite GPS, wireless technology, and the electromagnetic high-speed rail. (ssl)
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