Space Hotels: Civil Engineering’s New Frontier
Publication: Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 15, Issue 1
Abstract
This paper reviews the prospects for the development of commercial hotels in space; it shows that it is increasingly accepted that this could become a lively new field of business within little more than a decade. The key enabler is the availability of low-cost access to space through the operation of reusable passenger-carrying launch vehicles, the development of which requires investment equal to no more than a few months worth of existing space budgets. When this becomes available, competition will lead to rapid development of progressively more exotic facilities in orbit as companies exploit the unique environment of space to provide guests with ever more popular services. Discussed are some of the civil engineering topics that will arise as orbital accommodation grows from assemblies of prefabricated modules to large structures assembled in orbit, including rotating structures offering “artificial gravity,” and eventually to buildings on the lunar surface.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Aerospace Engineering
Volume 15 • Issue 1 • January 2002
Pages: 10 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 21, 2000
Accepted: Mar 6, 2001
Published online: Jan 1, 2002
Published in print: Jan 2002
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