mikelepage: Mars-g torus hotel and LEO torus station (2022–2024)

Design summary

  • Resort target (2022). Chosen on Hall's comfort chart: 25–30 m radius, ~3.8 rpm, 0.379 g ("Mars g = 37.9%, not 1/3").
  • Running spinward at 22% of rim speed changes perceived g by ±50%, and the corridor doubles as a running track.
  • Cost <$1B for 20 guests at 75% occupancy + 12 staff; at $30k per person per day, payback in ~6 years mikelepage, 2022-10-23; mikelepage, 2022-10-24.
  • Station specs (2023). A torus of ~24–28 m radius at Mars g, >2× ISS mass (~1000 t), for 24–36 people. Modular assembly from Starship with minimal EVA; "SCWorM" waste module feeding algae and aquaponics mikelepage, 2023-01-30.
  • Hotel (2023). mikelepage, 2023-05-16
  • 30–40 people in a torus of 18 hinged module pairs (one pair per launch). Each pair is 4.6 m deep × 13.5 m wide; occupied radius 24–26 m; 3.8 rpm for Mars g.
  • Rooms: king room, dorm, kitchen, dining, gym, lab, waste. A centre cupola for views.
  • Power: "IROSA MAX" arrays (9.5 × 40 m), ~240 kW total. Radiators on angled module roofs, shaded in the edge-on configuration.
  • Two Starships dock at once. Starship OMS opposes a central motor for spin-up/down and reboost. "Bogie" units on radial arms assemble the station and rebalance the CoM. Pod shuttles carry 6–8 people.
  • 21 Starship launches in total.
  • LEO toroidal Mars-g station (2024). mikelepage, 2024-07-23
  • 36 m inner / ~42 m outer radius, 250 m circumference. 48 Starship modules (~14 × 6 m cross-section, long axis parallel to the spin axis), added as fast as Starship launches.
  • Always ≥1 Starship docked, providing power and damping.
  • A central zero-g module with an internal counter-rotating cage (no rotating seals). Zero EVAs.
  • An active structural bisector allows closure mikelepage, 2024-07-24. Four-step mating sequence mikelepage, 2024-07-31.

Critiques raised

Open questions

  • Can hinged module pairs be berthed robotically at Starship cadence?

Sources

Forum posts