Here’s What The Gateway Foundation’s Space Station Will Look Like. Watch Video
NASA, Roscosmos, and other space agencies have the goal of facilitating a long-term human presence in space via the development of new technologies. These technologies will also be useful for sending crewed missions back to the Moon, as well as to Mars, and other parts of our Solar System. So far, the results of these initiatives have given us Mir and the International Space Station (ISS).
Eventually, this work will result in the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway and commercial space stations — such as the Bigelow B330. Plus, if private aerospace companies such as the Gateway Foundation are successful, we might also see a spaceport in orbit around our planet. Recently, the Gateway Foundation posted a video portraying exactly what their rotating wheel space station will look like, and how companies such as SpaceX could help construct it.
The company’s concept is called the Gateway. It’s a rotating space station based on a design by a German rocket scientist and space architect, named Werner von Braun. His plans were published in the 1950s in a series of articles in the national magazine known as Collier. It was called, “Man Will Conquer Space Soon!” Thus, the company has called their suggested design the Von Braun station.
Von Braun’s design built off of previous research, the earliest of which dates back to 1903 with a Russian scientist called Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. In fact, the concept was beautifully illustrated in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was co-written by the famous scientist and futurist Arthur C. Clarke (and based on his short story called “The Sentinel“).
The general concepts involve a rotating wheel station in orbit around Earth, which would allow for a human presence in space while simultaneously offering artificial gravity for those living there. This is an integral part of the suggested space flights that will send astronauts to parts of deep-space, like Mars and even further into the Solar System.
Mission planners are constantly trying to find ways to reduce the effects of long-term exposure to zero gravity. This was extensively outlined in NASA’s recent Twin Study. The study was made up of ten separate examinations into the long-term effects of microgravity on humans, via twin astronauts Scott Kelly and Mark Kelly as test subjects.
After Scott Kelly spent more than one year in space, while his twin stayed on Earth, the study teams found various significant changes between the twins. Scott experienced the same loss of muscle mass and bone density as other astronauts who were in space for extended periods aboard the ISS, but there were also other changes that made transitioning back to life on Earth quite hard.
For example, Kelly’s eyesight was weaker, his extremities underwent intense swelling, and there were changes in the way his organs functioned and the way his gene expressed themselves.
However, as John Blincow, the CEO of the Gateway Foundation explained in their recently-posted video this is one of the advantages of his company’s proposed Gateway.
Blincow said that people need gravity, so their bodies don’t fall apart. But the question is for how long will lunar gravity be okay? One year, two years? Will the gravity on Mars be okay for humans long-term? What about farm animals? By constructing the von Braun space station, it could help answer these mysteries.
The structure of the Gateway is made up of two concentric inner rings fixed to an outer ring by four spokes. The two concentric rings compose the Lunar Gravity Area (LGA), where the station’s rotation offers a gravitational force equivalent to that of the surface of the Moon. The LGA Habitation ring, where the habitation modules will be located, will be made up of small rooms for guests.
While the interior ring of the LGA will have high-ceilings and provide tourists with a space to dine and have fun in a low-g environment, the station’s core will be made up of the Hub and Bay, where traffic and environment control, security, and the Gateway’s transportation area will all be situated. The Hub will also feature a lounge where guests can watch incoming shuttles.
The outer ring, which is called the Mars Gravity Area (MGA), will experience faster rotation because it is further from the core. This will cause an artificial gravitational force much like what would be encountered on Mars’ surface. This part of the Gateway will have 4 or 5 decks and feature large modules for permanent accommodations.
Blincow stated that the Von Braun space station would be a rotating space station engineered to generate different levels of artificial gravity by increasing or decreasing its rate of rotation. From the start, the station will be built to accommodate both national space agency’s performing low gravity research, as well as space tourists looking to experience life on a giant space station in the comfort of low gravity and the feel of a fancy hotel.
Another essential aspect that Blincow talked about is the role that SpaceX could play in creating the rotating space station. At first, the Gateway’s design needed modules that were 12 m (40 ft) long and 8.5 m (28 ft) wide (about twice the size of modules for the ISS). However, due to the progress, SpaceX has made recently with their Starship and Super Heavy, the Gateway Foundation thinks that it will now be possible to launch heavier payloads.
Blincow explained that if they could use a SpaceX Superheavy second stage that was invented for space construction, they could have modules that are 40 feet (12 m) wide and 60 feet (18 m) long. A much bigger size that will enable a much bigger interior volume for the same launch expense.
The modular design of the rings is to accommodate a variety of activities and business. For instance, some will be set reserved for dock worker housing, while others will be committed to scientific research. These science modules will be in high demand because the station provides the opportunity to study how terrestrial organisms fare with lunar and Martian gravity without having actually to land on the planets.
Other modules will be used for hotel and restaurant chains, private luxury accommodations, and other businesses seeking to set up offices in space. Furthermore, Blincow emphasized that creating this Gateway will be beyond the scope of any single nation, and will necessitate an international effort that joins space agencies, commercial aerospace, and space enthusiasts together.
The result will be an international station not unlike the ISS, except it will be a privately-run venture that would be self-sustaining economically. So far, we don’t know how much it will cost to build this Gateway. However, Blincow feels that it will be affordable, due to SpaceX’s participation and by using reusable rockets to reduce the cost of individual launches.
Picture & Video credits: the Gateway Foundation
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