Colonizing Outer Space from an Artificial Planet in Orbit
A Journey to the Stars
Throughout the last 50-60 years of research and professed activity in space, the idea of traveling to the stars has aroused the imagination of many. From the launch of the first human satellite, to the design and study of the diverse space environments, and establishing a lasting presence in low Earth orbit. Accessing the Space frontier has displayed multitudes of benefits for the human society by improving the quality of life on Earth. Developing satellite telecommunications, global positioning and advance weather monitoring to name just a few. All advances realized because of an established will to explore and reach for the stars, to discover new horizons.
At the brink of the 21st century, Humanity is faced with a similar transitionary moment. A moment where new ideas and new possibilities are being realized due the development of new innovation. The transition in the human psyche is eminent. Never in our history has Space Access and Exploration been at the pinnacle of human discussions. From government organizations, weather European, Asian, American or even Hollywood, all major organizational bodies have realized the significance of accessing space and the development of an appropriate infrastructure to expand into new horizons.
A primary Mission Directive of Tachyon Aerospace is Integration. Integration of Technologies, Ideas and a glimpse into the mind-set and intention behind the development of these technologies. Throughout the previous publications, there has been a display of innovative breakthroughs never before developed or realized by the Aerospace industry or the scientific and physics communities. The technological advancements weather in Propulsion, Radiation Shielding or Vehicle design all provide the necessary means to the development of the next generation of Planetary transportation. The development of a new form of transport will be key for a developing space faring race to reach new horizons of destination.
To determine a new high-profile destination as Mars is vitally stepping into the future of a space faring society. The established destination points and the journey to these new horizons define an era of society and the innovative accomplishments that were achieved to conduct a journey of this magnitude. Many societal reforms and culture needs to be considered to evolve and expand alongside as new destinations are realized.
A milestone of space exploration for the 20th century has been the International Space Station, which sits in our low-earth orbit. A remarkable achievement as not just an innovative marvel but an example of what can be achieved through mutual collaboration between different nations.
At Tachyon Aerospace, we employ the International Space Station as an inspiration for redefining exploration and colonizing. True exploration and colonizing of a planet shouldn’t be restricted to landing on an alien surface. We believe that, landing on a surface of a planet like Mars should be particularly for the gathering of resources and not for setting up a base on a planet. Due to the fact that the Curiosity Rover detected a number of weather anomalies and surface conditions such as:
Mars has a series of dust storms on its surface which can last for months on at a time. Changes in the weather conditions also drastically change every few hours at times. These storms can range from small tornadoes or planet-wide phenomena. With dust being blown in the atmosphere, it gets heated up by the Sun. The warm dust-filled storms can measure up to thousands of kilometers in width. These phenomena also have the ability to block the surface from view and they give the planet it’s red glare.
Mars has a very thin atmosphere which is composed of 96% carbon dioxide, 1.93% argon and 1.89% nitrogen, along with traces of oxygen and water. It has an atmosphere that is only 1% as dense as the Earth’s.
Because of Mars’ thin atmosphere, the surface temperature on the surface is colder than on Earth. The temperatures usually go to -46 °C (-51 °F), with a low of -143 °C (-225.4 °F) during the winter at the poles, and a high of 35 °C (95 °F) during summer and midday at the equator.
The patches and streams of Ice on the Planet’s surface are deposits of dry ice, which were formed from the 25-30% of the Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere freezing because of the cold temperatures. The Mars Curiosity Rover has also reported trace amounts of methane and ammonia in the atmosphere.
The thin cold atmosphere also mitigates the conditions to maintain a water cycle. Because of the atmosphere conditions and the lack of a magnetosphere, liquid precipitation does not take place on Mars. The solar radiation causes the liquid water in the atmosphere to disassociate into hydrogen and oxygen. Time to time a thin layer of clouds does form in the polar regions of the atmosphere and precipitation falls in the form of carbon dioxide snow.
Mars also displays Auroras on multiple occasions in the area of the planet where the strongest magnetic field is localized. The interaction between the magnetic fields and solar radiation causes these auroras.
Based on the data and recorded challenging environment of Mars provides an opportunity to realize the potential, of other planets having the possibility of a compromising environment with different magnitudes of severities as well. Tachyon Aerospace is developing new solutions while analyzing the measured and provided data.
The solution being designed and developed at Tachyon Aerospace is an innovative marvel of science and design. Instead of invading foreign land whether continental or Martian, for the sake of colonizing. As much as this is a pattern of Human exploration, the calculated approach would be to observe and explore the environment from a safer distance-as in the low planetary orbit. Tachyon Aerospace is developing a space station which will be capable of transporting up to 2,000 individuals for multiple duration of time and distances through our Solar System.
The Tachyon Aerospace space station is designed in a planetary shape of a sphere, with the inner frame built in a honeycomb structure. The honeycomb structure ensures optimal safety, longevity and strength. The durability of the structure helps to withstand the physical forces from sudden temperature fluctuations that occur at high-speed and long-distance travels.
The Construction of the Space Station will be done by the local materials and minerals retrieved from the planet. Earth and Mars have fairly similar compositions, with roughly equal amounts of rock and iron in their interiors. Mars’ surface is largely covered with basalt, a volcanic rock, Carbonate (as in limestone) has recently been discovered on Mars as well, though how much of it is below the surface is not known. The finding of carbonate implies the past existence of water on Mars. Mars presently lacks oceans, but appears to have a lot of water buried below the surface. Again, how much is not well known. We would take a carbon fiber frames in the TAV to assemble in the planet’s orbit. This would be the 3D printer. We would then take the local materials and laser sinter them to start 3D printing the Space station in roughly 20-foot triangular increments. After constructing the Sphere frame, we will start building the Solar Regen Gravity Assist drive. The gravity assist drive will assist in the gyro stabilizing of the space station and precision maneuverability, along with providing all the necessary electrical power. In the case of this size of Regen the power output will be approximately 5 Mw, this will be more than sufficient to power the station.
As new challenges associated with space exploration have been realized, new innovative solutions have given our Human race the opportunity to advance through the challenges by sparking new scientific and technological knowledge. Advances in technology and design have provided us with a better understanding of our world. We need to utilize the opportunity to develop the appropriate and calculated innovation to explore other worlds, to develop a better understanding of our Solar System and Universe.
New innovative solutions always have been and continue to be an important vector in industry direction and cultural change. The synergy between innovation and the evolution of an industry have been dynamic throughout history. New technological solutions have always made history, and history has been the capstone of entering into a new frontier of realizations.
At Tachyon Aerospace, we believe that innovation is a state of mind. A state of mind developed around the parameters of redefining the status-quo. To develop the means for humanity to reach for the stars, it is crucial to first establish a reason for why the human race needs to come together. For all to reach out first we all need to innovate our presence to create the future we so desire.