Brief

This site is a blackboard for sketching, drafting, writing and exchanging ideas about the near future of space habitation. It focuses on the emerging orbital settlements - manned or not - and is interested in forecasting their eventual srawl in relation to the global super urbanization. It is clear that the process has started already driven by the technological advancements, and it will be fueled further by the demographic growth and increased burden on the planet. The site welcomes everyone who is interested in imagining the ultimate megabuilding-megacity - The Spacescraper - as a dream or as a nightmare.

Stages of life

The Spacescraper evolution embodies the principles of collective growth and reinterprets the history of human civilization. It has started as a daring exploration out of the cave and continues with establishing initial outposts – the Space stations. Its current Steel age will soon develop into a new Carbon era. New economic conditions resulting from development of advanced materials, methods of production, transportation and communication will introduce the private initiative into the race for orbital utilization. Communication centers, solar energy farms, orbiting nuclear reactors will produce the first orbital villages. Their growth and regrouping with nomadic camps, space resorts, free trading zones, fictional gold mines, military bases and detention facilities will mark the emergence of a new class of diverse and randomized settlements – the orbital towns. As the Spacescraper collection sprawls it will become clear that new cheap low-tech materials will be needed to satisfy the unprecedented demand. Excess of harnessed solar and synthetic energy will allow for new energy intensive material technologies. Vitrified cellular silica produced from evaporated desert sand is expected to be the new space material of choice. At this stage the formation of large orbital cities will quickly evolve into establishing of the first space metropolises, characterized not by their size but by the quality of life. Extremely luxurious amenities like simulated gravity, running water and unlimited oxygen will become available to larger social groups.

to be continued



1 comment:

Chernia said...

I still can not see why we are going there - at least for extended periods of time?
Why will mankind invest the necessary huge resources - which we know are always scarce?

As you mention this could only be a common interest establishment - if people start to live in orbital environment beoynd the "several months safe for the body and mind" period we will need to either replicate as close as possible our Earth environment or genetically modify humans who will be doomed to live there permanently?

I see only 2 choices: live in the harsh and dangerous orbital environment as we know it now(like present space station) - even with some significant improvements for not more than several months period - or invest huge resources and create an earthlike living environment with the quality of life necessary to sustain orbital camps, villages, resorts...you envisioned.

Even if we can provide safe environment with some good quaility of life...I doubt we can replicate everything we are used to/depend on Earth. This will render the space settlements an industrial establishment with temporary workers?

The luxurious amenities will allow a limited tourist industry but hardly anything more...we have adapted to more then the luxuries of the 20th century...in fact humans began to suffer in the urban environments they created and we've seen a strong back-to-the-nature culture since the 1950s.