InterestedEngineer: self-assembling ring of expendable-Starship modules (2023)
Design summary
- Concept. ~50–60 standard modules (12 m × 9 m), each launched by a stripped expendable Starship (<$10M launch, <$50M with the module). They self-assemble by RCS, with docking ports carrying fluid, air and power, and a 1 m plastic lining. 1/3 g at <2 rpm, ~100 m diameter, hundreds of people for ~$3B. "Optimize for what's cheap"; the hub has only two docking points InterestedEngineer, 2023-06-02; InterestedEngineer, 2023-06-02; InterestedEngineer, 2023-06-05.
- "String about 50 tubes together" mikelepage, 2023-06-03. Design for iteration (build several) InterestedEngineer, 2023-06-06.
Critiques raised
- Coastal Ron: custom expendable Ships cost ~$100M+ (amortization); a chain of docked links is only as strong as its weakest link; who's the customer? Coastal Ron, 2023-06-02; Coastal Ron, 2023-06-02.
- Paul451: geometric optimization is not abstract. Cluster the same 60 modules as two 2 × 3 × 4 blocks on two arms Paul451, 2023-06-05.
- mikelepage: Vast uses ~7 m modules to fit any fairing mikelepage, 2023-06-03.
Open questions
- Can RCS self-assembly achieve the joint precision a pressurized ring needs?
Related pages
Sources
Forum posts
- InterestedEngineer, 2023-06-02 (reply #3765): Self-assembling ring. Post.
- Coastal Ron, 2023-06-02 (reply #3766): Coastal Ron critique. Post.
- InterestedEngineer, 2023-06-02 (reply #3767): Detail. Post.
- Coastal Ron, 2023-06-02 (reply #3768): Weakest link. Post.
- mikelepage, 2023-06-03 (reply #3773, 1 like): Cheap tubes. Post.
- InterestedEngineer, 2023-06-05 (reply #3783): Cost. Post. Attachments: self-assemble-orbital-station.jpg, station-modules-to-orbit.jpg, tinker-toy-space-station-module.jpg.
- Paul451, 2023-06-05 (reply #3784, 3 likes): Cluster modules (3 likes). Post. Attachments: Modules as dumbbell.jpg.
- InterestedEngineer, 2023-06-06 (reply #3792): Design for iteration. Post.