Optimal Solar System Locations for Orbital Habitats

By Mike Combs

One of the most outstanding advantages orbital habitats have over planetary colonies is while the latter would be settlements in one particular location, space habitats can be built anywhere in the solar system we want to be.
While O'Neill-type habitats can orbit almost anywhere, it's still the case that some orbits would be more advantageous than others. Where is the prime orbital real estate in our solar system?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Combs
• Release date: Dec 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005657079

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Optimal Solar System Locations for Orbital Habitats

by Mike Combs

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Copyright © 2022

Images courtesy of NASA

One of the most outstanding advantages orbital habitats have over planetary colonies is while the latter would be settlements in one particular location, space habitats can be built anywhere in the solar system we want to be. One of the few limitations is the orbit must not be frequently eclipsed by a planet. Even that requirement may apply more to space habitats as Gerard O’Neill originally envisioned them, with giant mirrors reflecting natural sunlight into the interior, than to the LED-illuminated kind people are discussing more lately.

While O’Neill habitats can orbit almost anywhere, it’s still the case that some orbits would be more advantageous than others. Where is the prime orbital real estate in our solar system?

One of the primary factors in this series of comparisons will be local availability of resources. We’ll also consider the geometry of space-time for advantages. In this analysis, we’ll start close in to the sun, and range further and further out.

Orbits inside that of Mercury’s

There’s not much advantage here. It’s hypothesized there might be a class