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Industrial Space Necklace

The first launch of the GPV into space will allow starting the creation of the Industrial Space Necklace “Orbit”

The ISN “Orbit” is a multiorbital transport, infrastructure, and industrial-residential complex serving Earth’s humanity and covering the planet in the equator plane. It is a functional analogue of the Equatorial Linear City which is located in space, as well as a range intended to protect from space threats (including meteorites) and a platform for the Earth’s civilization expansion into deep space

Gondolas, factories, residential complexes: future on the orbit

The ISN “Orbit” will look like a necklace where there will be coupled cargo and passenger gondolas placed at a span of about 500 m and connected to each other in the form of a ring with string communications. There will be factories, workshops, power plants, and other industrial structures eventually created around the gondolas. Residential space settlements —EcoCosmoHouses, where service personnel of space industry will live and work, will be also located there

ISN “Orbit” includes

Industry

Compared to the industry located on the planet’s surface, outer space and near-Earth orbits have a number of advantages

Energy, metallurgy, chemistry: key industries on the orbit

In accordance with the program of the GPV operation, the industrial production facilities, scientific laboratories, factories, and workshops connected to power generation, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and chemistry will be gradually moved and reconstructed from Earth to near-Earth orbit

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Residential sector

The basis of the residential sector at the ISN “Orbit” will consist of multifunctional clusters — the EcoCosmoHouses providing artificial gravity and designed on the base of the best part of the Earth’s biosphere — subtropics

Natural conditions for a comfortable and safe life of a person in an aggressive space environment:

Earth’s atmosphere
Landscapes
Flora and fauna
Living fertile soil
Terrestrial biogeocenoses
Aquatic ecosystems
Other terrestrial

EcoCosmoHouse

Despite automation and robotization, the industry created in space must be maintained by people. In orbit, it will be necessary to create residential settlements of a new type — EcoCosmoHouses (ECH), where millions of people will live, work, relax, undergo therapy and treatment courses

ECH may become the first facility to preserve the biodiversity of Earth’s flora and fauna beyond the boundaries of our planet

The most convenient part of the Earth’s biosphere will be recreated within each ECH intended for several thousand inhabitants and being a small village-type society built on innovative principles with consideration of all the necessary natural conditions such as the atmosphere, a variety of landscapes, living organisms, soils, biogeocenoses, aquatic ecosystems, etc. The most comfortable physical conditions will also be arranged as follows: gravity, illumination in the natural spectrum, optimal temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.

Enclosed ecosystem

ECH is an enclosed space that includes a variety of soils, biogeocenoses, water systems, and many communities of living organisms that are capable of self-reproduction and full-fledged existence under the impact of a complex of abiotic factors for an unlimited time

ECH

Artificial ecosystem

Here, a simplified local model of nature will be recreated

Natural ecosystem

All living organisms will be delivered unchanged from the planet Earth

Designing of enclosed artificial ecosystems is one of the most urgent tasks for the whole mankind

Reasons

  • Space age advent and the need to arrange comfortable and healthy conditions for human life and work in space

  • Arrangement of life on lands that are hardly suitable for humans

  • Restoration and development of the ecosystems, preservation of the biodiversity

Biological aspects of ECH functioning

  • Natural soil from the planet Earth with thousands of microorganisms (about a trillion species per 1 kg of soil) will be used

  • More than 2.500 species of plant organisms (about 2 million individuals), more than 4.000 species of animals (about 2.5 million individuals) will be involved

  • Aquatic microflora and microfauna will be arranged

The human habitat can become comfortable only with the most complete modeling of the planet’s biosphere, including the entire diversity of flora and fauna, as well as microflora and microfauna — a soil biogeocenosis with thousands of microorganisms’ species. It is impossible to create comfortable and safe living conditions in a space house without healthy (living) fertile soil, since it is the biosphere immune system. In the same way, the basis of the people’s immune system is the microflora of our intestines — it feeds, nurses, and even treats us. Trillions of microorganisms of various species live there. And each of them has its own narrow duty; therefore, it is impossible to exclude any of them from the biosphere chain of living matter circulation.

The biosphere complex of the space house should constantly produce oxygen, which is mandatory for the breathing of people and animals staying there, as well as produce healthy food and dispose all the waste products of living organisms into humus

For a full-fledged existence in the ECH, it is necessary to provide at least 300 m² of soil surface per capita

20 %

For the oxygen production taking into account the use of chlorella

40 %

For vegetable food: vegetables, fruits, garden produce, cereals, etc.

40 %

For animal source foods: meat, milk, cheese, etc.

With modern developments and optimization of the processes in the ECH conditions, the required soil area per capita can be reduced by more than two times

Permaculture

Modern natural way of organizing space, gardening, and farming.

The advantage of this approach is the use of natural technologies. The creators and adherents of this direction observe the nature, while equally estimating importance of the care about both Earth with all its living and inanimate components and people

The basic principles of permaculture

Harmonious interaction between all the environment elements

Each element has several functions and ensures the existence of other elements

Reflection of natural schemes and algorithms
Application of species diversity
Efficient energy planning and use of the renewable and biological resources
It is important to preserve the conditions for human life as a part of the bioworld

However, provision of all the necessary physical conditions for a person’s life is not enough for him to be healthy

Socio-psychological aspects of ECH functioning

A person needs opportunities for constant personal growth and self-development

A limited social circle and inability to change it for a certain time

An emergency or unforeseen circumstances may arise

Other factors causing the change in behavior, health, and perception of a person inside a closed space

Such usual natural elements as the expanse of the sky, distance of the horizon, ability to change the situation, and others are not available in a closed space

While creating a new space for people to live in, first of all, it is necessary to prevent conditions that will cause diseases

The criteria of selecting people to live in ECH should include the following:

Physical characteristics of a person

Health, physical fitness

Availability of the relevant knowledge

General and professional, about the subjects of research

Certain psychological qualities

Personal and social

Creation of a friendly atmosphere and selection of the participants with character traits appropriate for staying within ECH are among the factors that determine the success of the entire space exploration mission

Environment parameters

For a comfortable stay of people in space, it is necessary to provide conditions that are equivalent and even superior in quality to those exist on Earth

Gravity

As on Earth or with downgraded value in some clusters for production needs

Pressure

Comfortable pressure for most people is 760 mmHg or, as for the mountain areas, — about 700 mmHg. It is allowable to create a pressure of 380 mmHg in the areas where flora, fauna, and agricultural blocks are located

Air temperature

21–25 °С. It is possible to regulate during the day, year

Air humidity

55–60 %. It is possible to regulate during the day, year

Illumination level

Artificially.

General lighting should be provided in accordance with the natural biorhythms of people, animals, and plants.

Local lighting should be also created depending on the zone and season of a particular ecosystem

When modeling the planet’s biosphere for the space house, samples from Earth will be used

Flora and fauna

From the climatic zones of Earth that are the most favorable for human being

Microflora and microfauna

Comfortable and safe living conditions within the space house are created due to the healthy (living) fertile soil from Earth with thousands of microorganisms, which is considered as the biosphere immune system

Oxygen

Its main part is produced naturally by plants.

Oxygen is necessary for the breathing of people and animals, as well as for the production of healthy food and disposal of all waste products of living organisms in humus

Water reservoirs

Ones with fresh and sea water

Landscapes

Small mountains with streams and waterfalls, meadows, forest zones, apothecary gardens, orchards, green areas for rest

Infrastructure

Each ECH can function independently, as it is a closed ecosystem. At the same time, all ECHs are located in the ISN “Orbit” structure and are connected to each other with transport, energy and information communications, and to the planet Earth — by means of the GPV

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ECH is a place of temporary and permanent residence, work and recreation for settlers

In order to make person’s stay healthy and comfortable, it is necessary to design ideas that involve the combination of different ecosystems, ensuring the balance of natural and architectural environments. Design decisions regulate a number of processes that can influence the interaction between living beings

Smart Zoning: Designing Closed Ecosystems

Competent functional zoning of space and location of architectural volumes determine the location of engineering communications, the structure of the landscape, the layout of natural zones and, accordingly, and the relationship between different groups of organisms of the enclosed ecosystem as a whole.

Understanding of the planning areas interaction, while considering trophic connections, provides the basis of the functional zoning model to be created and further applied to all possible types of internal enclosed areas on Earth and in space

Conditions determining the geometry of the ECH shell designed by engineer A. Unitsky

  • Gravity comfortable for people to stay in

  • Bionic view

  • Hierarchy of spaces required for various functions

  • Efficient use of materials

One of the options of a space settlement

Is a system of two capsule cylinders with reciprocal counter rotation around a common axis. The diameter of the outer cylinder is 500 m with a length of 500 m, the inner one has diameter of 300 m and its length is 500 m as well. The total length of the structure is 1 km (one of the variants of dimensions)

Living area
Layer of the fertile soil
Agricultural zone
Technical zone
Forest

Factors determining the distribution of functional zones

  • Pedestrian accessibility

  • Optimization of engineering systems

  • Efficient land use

  • Logistics of goods and products delivery

  • Human-scaled environment

  • Acceptable density of residential buildings

A multi-storey technical zone with a height of about 10 m

Located at the outer surface of a large cylinder. The presence of this space and its volume are determined by the need of placement of the tanks with drinking and industrial water, warehouses for storing food and equipment, as well as compartments with multi-level autonomous greenhouses for growing an additional volume of products and other elements

Smart farm: how robots help in the cultivation of plants

The rooms for plant cultivation are equipped with artificial lighting and robots that use a printer method for cultivation.

This technology allows planting, cultivation and harvesting of the crops without human intervention, while growing conditions in greenhouses correspond to the natural climatic conditions genetically recorded in the DNA of plants over billions of years of evolution on Earth

Environmental parameters that do not affect the quality of agricultural products, but increase the productivity of their production — such as humidity, temperature, carbon dioxide levels, lighting, gravity level, etc. — will be optimized and can be regulated at different periods of plants growing.

  • Humidity

  • Temperature

  • Carbon dioxide content

  • Illumination level

  • Gravity level

  • Other parameters

Natural and technological solutions work together

ECH provides for the possibility of using engineering systems in addition to the main natural processes of water and air purification, waste disposal, carbon dioxide filtration, etc. Delivery from warehouses and reservoirs is organized autonomously. The system of sectors and locks ensures safety and autonomous functioning of all engineering systems of the technical zones, in order to prevent interruptions in case of the possible collisions with meteorites

Above the technical zone, there is a multi-meter layer of fertile soil, which will become not only the main mechanical protection against meteorite and radiation, but also the “green lungs” of the ECH, and the basis for recreational and agricultural zones. Soil biogeocenose with thousands of species of microorganisms will be able to support the vital activity of flora and fauna in the enclosed ecosystem of a space settlement. The integration of nature-like engineering communications with the natural soil layer will provide constant irrigation and full plant nutrition (without chemical fertilizers and pesticides)

The inner area of the space settlement is represented by the changing plain, foothill, and mountain (at the ends of the cylinders) landscapes, creating a natural visual environment. This shell contains an area for growing various crops, territories for livestock breeding, sports grounds, walkways, and green areas for planting food for ECH residents. The system of ponds and streams is evenly distributed, forming an irrigation network and a system of stage-by-stage water treatment with mineral and organic loadings

“Sky” above the green zone

For visual and psychological comfort, above the green zone there is a 100-meter air gap that is bounded by the inner cylinder imitating the sky. The height of the sky section should be several tens of meters more than the tallest trees

Overcoming space difficulties with active recreation

Life in the orbit presents many challenges for humans: different health threats, lengthy adaptation processes, atmospheric composition which is different from the terrestrial one. To maintain physical and psychological comfort, as well as for additional health improvement, ECH includes locations for training and active games, walkways, eco-trails, climatotherapy zones, and areas for swimming in reservoirs

Hotels and living areas are placed on the inner cylinder of the ECH on a multi-meter layer of “space soil”, which are carefully integrated in the ecosystem. A separated residential area provides additional safety for tourists and residents of the complex. To create comfortable living conditions, it is necessary to determine the optimal density and population size.

The need to create clear, easily perceived, comfortable, safe, and manageable environmental conditions is becoming urgent

Planning and architectural solutions that motivate a healthy lifestyle:

  • Beautiful walkways

  • Convenient sports grounds

  • Ecological integration of architecture into the natural environment

  • Ergonomics, appropriate lighting, absence of destructive elements (noise, toxic colors, noticeable vibrations, unpleasant odors)

Composite structural elements

Space residential cluster

A hollow sphere (cylinder or torus) with a diameter of 200-500 m, rotated around its axis. Can be a system of two capsule constructions with reciprocal counter rotation around a common axis

ECH shell

Made of high-strength materials.

Is the most material-light part. If made of composite materials, currently produced by industry, the thickness of the shell of such a huge structure will be about 3 mm

Safety system

Made in the form of a system of high-strength nets covering the residential cluster. The nets gradually break (cut) large meteorites into ever smaller fragments, which are not able to penetrate the ECH meteorite protection

Meteorite and radiation protection

Is the most material-heavy part of the sphere, as it includes soil. The total thickness is several meters

Inner surface of the sphere

Layer of the fertile soil, where trees, gardens, meadows and corresponding biocoenoses are growing.

Reservoirs with fresh and sea water with their ecosystems.

Part of the sphere, approaching the axis of rotation of the structure, includes small mountains with streams, waterfalls, and foothill ecosystems

GPV passenger and cargo modules

Is planned to be used as a full-fledged living space.

Such residential modules can be used for building a separate residential area at the EcoCosmoHouse. Together they will be like suburban areas of low-rise buildings, where each family has its own space

Estimated weight of materials in tons required for construction of the ECH meant for 5000 people

2000

Pressure shell

100 000

Anti-radiation and anti-meteorite protection

200 000

Ecological black soil

100 000

Fresh and sea water

50 000

Building materials and structures, including dwellings inside the ECH

10 000

Air

38 000

Other

≈ 500 000
Total weight

Cost of ECH construction for 5000 people in dollars

500 million

Delivery of materials to orbit via the GPV

500 million

Materials and substances

1 billion

Construction and installation works

≈ 2 billion
Total cost

75 times cheaper than construction of the ten-man ISS

The cost of the International Space Station construction exceeded USD 150 billion.

On the money that humanity has already spent on the possibility of having up to 10 astronauts in orbit (under uncomfortable and life-threatening conditions), with the help of the GPV, it is possible to build 75 ECHs for 375,000 inhabitants who will live and work under much more comfortable conditions than on Earth

150 billion $
1 ISS
10 astronauts
75 ECH
375 000 inhabitants

Protection against meteorites and radiation

There is a meteor and radiation hazard in space, as well as in near-Earth orbit. To create effective protection against these negative external factors, ECH is designed to have a thick multi-layer barrier, including foam materials and a multi-meter layer of soil along with water and air

First line of defense from a multi-layer fine mesh

The net will be located at a distance of several tens of meters from the ECH, creating a space with a vacuum and zero gravity conditions, which are necessary for several space industries with corresponding technological equipment.

Also, it will become the first protective layer — as a result, meteorite that is larger than the mesh cell will be partially crushed and its fragments will fly further, encountering technological equipment that will take the second blow. Therefore, only the weakened remains of the meteorite will reach the inner shell of the ECH, which ensures its tightness

Office premises in sealed GPV container gondolas

In areas of space with an increased meteor hazard, residential and office premises can be put inside the GPV container gondolas that deliver passengers and cargo to orbit. These gondolas are sealed, designed for overpressure and equipped with a hatch (door), while having a life support system. Therefore, even with the depressurization of the space house due to large meteorite hit, residents can save themselves by battening down the hatch

The ISN “Orbit” with inhabited EcoCosmoHouses is a functional analogue of the Equatorial Linear City, which is located in space

The construction of this system in Earth orbit is necessary to transfer harmful industries into space, to establish and develop new technical industries, and, as a result, to save the Earth’s biosphere

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