Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Science/2023 May 11

= May 11 =

Artificial gravity on Haven-1
The California based startup Vast has announced that they are going to launch a small space station to Low Earth Orbit. According to the press materials on their homepage (vastspace.com), they will have "Opportunities for lunar artificial gravity by spinning." They also say that the station will have a diameter of 3.8 m. This would require a rotational speed of 0.654 0.9248 radians per second. At that speed, would the Coriolis effect be noticeable enough to be troublesome? Would passengers be able to jog around around the circumference of the station without flying towards the center or being pushed too hard against the wall?  Puzzledvegetable Is it teatime already?  00:42, 11 May 2023 (UTC) + edit (forgot to convert diameter to radius) -- Puzzledvegetable  Is it teatime already?  04:46, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
 * This sounds very dubious to me: with that diameter (12 feet 5 inches in imperial), if internal, a 6-foot tall person standing upright would have their head only 3 inches below the centre of the capsule, effectively at zero-g and spinning at 12 rpm – even sitting down would be seriously disorienting. I notice they are offering "Opportunities for lunar artificial gravity by spinning" (my underscore: did you factor that into your calculation?), which suggests the artificial gravity would not be present all the time, and unless they are proposing a spinning chamber inside a non spinning outer hull, I can't see how such a spin would be compatible with efficient operation of the solar panels shown in the illustrations. {The poster formerly known as 87.81.230.195} — Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.199.210.77 (talk) 01:13, 11 May 2023 (UTC)


 * Can you post the exact link where the diameter is discussed? ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 02:11, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
 * It's listed directly on the homepage at vastspace.com. If you scroll to the diagram of the station and select the "specs" menu, you should see it right there. They also have a page where they go into further detail about their plans for artificial gravity stations (which appears to be their primary focus), located here: https://www.vastspace.com/roadmap. They confirm on this page that the Haven-1 station will use artificial gravity at least some of the time.  Puzzledvegetable Is it teatime already?  02:51, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
 * It says "over 7 meters in diameter". The 3.8 you mention (which is not in that link) could be the radius. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 04:10, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
 * The starship-class station that they are planning to launch in the 2030s is 7 meters in diameter. The Haven-1 mission, which is planned for 2025, will use a different station, also called Haven-1 (I think, the terminology is confusing) that is 3.8 meters in diameter. The 3.8 number, as well as the rest of the specs for Haven-1, are listed directly on the website homepage. The URL for that is vastspace.com  Puzzledvegetable Is it teatime already?  04:37, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I linked to that page and I don't find any "3.8". ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 11:17, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Vast Space Homepage.png
 * I'm not sure what to tell you. I see it on the homepage. It might look different based on screen size or something.  Puzzledvegetable Is it teatime already?  11:58, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't see that illustration on the page, but I'll take your word for it. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:03, 11 May 2023 (UTC)


 * The speed of the outer wall (square root of (acceleration times radius)) is about equal to ordinary walking speed, so if you walk one way, you'll be weightless, if you walk the other way, you'll feel four times lunar gravity – at your feet; your head will be weightless either way. So to astronauts, it will be very unlike real lunar gravity. It could still be useful for smaller and slower things. For example, you could make sure your espresso machine works in lunar gravity, which is of vital importance to espresso addicted moon travellers. PiusImpavidus (talk) 08:40, 11 May 2023 (UTC)
 * vacuumbnb -- Verbarson talkedits 19:41, 11 May 2023 (UTC)