Gerard K. O'Neill

The colonization of space

New ideas are controversial when they challenge orthodoxy, but orthodoxy changes with time, often surprisingly fast. It is orthodox, for example, to believe that Earth is the only practical habitat for Man, and that the human race is close to its ultimate size limits. But I believe we have now reached the point where we can, if we so choose, build new habitats far more comfortable, productive and attractive than is most of Earth.

Space Manufacturing, Satellite Power and Human Exploration

AbstractSatellite power stations manufactured from non terrestrial materials may alleviate the global energy crisis as early as the 1990s. Costs may be competitive with coal and nuclear power and could provide an environmentally acceptable, inexhaustible and continuous supply of electricity anywhere on Earth. Habitats for the workforce employed in space manufacturing would offer a choice of gravities for living and recreation. Recent progress in this field and the interdisciplinary aspects of planning such a program are reviewed.