Favorite Type of Space Structure?

[Michael Colton]

What is your favorite type of space structure in fiction? Whether it is on the screen or on paper, whether you like it stylistically or because of the functional design of it, or maybe just developed an affinity for a certain type of structure due to its use in a particular work of fiction.

I decided upon the word 'structure' because I do not think 'space station' is an appropriate term for many of the structures we see in science fiction. One can build an outpost that is not best described as a 'station.' But of course, one can build a station that functions as an outpost. Etc.

For extra credit, what is your least favorite? What style, type, or design of structures in science fiction hinder the story, distract from the story, make no sense to you, etc.

 

[chrispenycate]

Um ringworld? Ok, on a more reasonable scale, C.J. Cherryh's stations, extending from both ends while maintaining a constant radius and rotation, extending from discs into cylinders into tubes as the centuries go on.

But there is little difference between a major spacecraft and an independent habitat.

As a poor design I put up Kapp's 'Cageworld'. Too complex, too technology dependent to trust.

 

[Vince W]

Ringworld would top my list (also the Culture orbitals) but the Spacedocks from Star Trek are pretty nice as well.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

James White "Federation World" had a Dyson sphere. But Niven's Ringworld is slightly more sane. I liked it better.
The Culture Orbital (Masaq' Orbital) seemed a bit over the top, I like Ringworld better.

The "pylons" and design of DS9 doesn't make much sense. Babylon 5 is too visual. A realistic Space Station that size would be more boring visually.

Real ones:
Mir (dead) and ISS are pretty mad as both "hotch potch". I don't know what the Chinese one looks like.

I've read Downbelow Station and enjoyed it. I don't remember anything really about the Station.

I'm "designing" a Way Station at present for current WIP. Able for 75,000 visitors, the Starships don't dock, but their "Flitters" do. About 3,500 docking ports. Accommodation organised as 42 large "Inns"/"Hotels". About 1km diameter (so doesn't have to rotate too quickly) and a bit more than 3km long. About 10,000 sq km on inner surface. The "dominant" Homeworld and most of the others involved had their "steam age" about 5,000 years ago. So the engineering wasn't especially hard. It's very nearly 3,000 years old though. Assembled by recycling Starships.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Kyara City in "The Anvil" by Nicolas Van Pallandt is frightening place.

I knew Werner Von Braun first proposed a Mars Mission in 1930s. Some research suggests he was one of earliest people to suggest a Wheel or Torus structure as a Space Station (with gravity simulated by rotation). The radius needs to be really more than 250m for 1G otherwise the Coriolis forces are too high for safety and comfort. But probably more than 0.4G is enough for health (only some bone loss / muscle tone issues), so smaller than 500m diameter rotating structures are possible. A cylinder is better than a torus for space vs material used once you get to larger sizes. The inward parts can be storage, propulsion, fuel, power generation, docking etc.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

See Island Three for an interesting Cylindrical Station.
It's quite ingenious how it's pointed to get sunlight.

As my Way Station doesn't actually have a local star at all (so that Starship Jump drive works), it doesn't have separate parts at all. It uses fusion power for heat & light etc. Visitors pay with water among other materials. As it's a semi-magical not-invented by us Fusion process, it doesn't need heavy hydrogen and Lithium, plain ordinary Hydrogen is fine as the Fusion system is very high pressure.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

I'm rather fond of the hyper-link* points left behind my ancient, God-like alien races...humans often stumble onto these gateways, and get whisked away to far points of the galaxy/universe; they often/usually find amazing things at the other end. A lot of great SF stories have revolved around the adventures of far-space exploration that these hyper-links allow/encourage/necessitate.

(Kind of a collective/generic term for a bunch of such devices.)

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I'm rather fond of the hyper-link* points left behind ...

A great collective name.

C. J. Cherryth's Gates in Morgaine series I feel are only there to have a reason for the World to World Mediaeval Fantasy. Great fun reads.

 

[Cat's Cradle]

Thank you, Ray!

 

[Rodders]

Ankh Morporkh. A giant disc on a giant turtle.

Babylon 5 was my favourite TV space structure.

Regula 1 from The a Wrath of Khan my favourite movie structure.

 

[Nechtan]

The Stanford torus does it for me everytime. Whether it's Larry Niven's Ringworld, Iain M. Banks' orbitals or John Varley's Gaea trilogy.

I've just been googling Dyson sphere and Stanford torus and discovered the Alderson disk. That's really capturing my imagination. There doesn't seem to be many books that have used this.

I need to brush up on my sci fi.

 

[Mouse]

Does a Budong count?

 

[Venusian Broon]

I've just been googling Dyson sphere and Stanford torus and discovered the Alderson disk. That's really capturing my imagination. There doesn't seem to be many books that have used this.

I was going to use an Alderson disk for one of my novel projects, buy nah, too small and inflexible - I'm going for some much bigger, more complex and much able to generate variety of conditions (I didn't like the lack of a day/night cycle!)

 

[Ray McCarthy]

The Niven Ringworld is my favourite "mega structure". The others all sound too much theoretical, totally silly or over the top.

If I had any mega-structure it would have to have been mysteriously built by an unknown civilisation a huge length of time ago, probably in another Galaxy. Because soon we would be able to spot one in our Galaxy.

I have an inflatable 'kit' space station (can't be taken apart sensibly once assembled) that has 6m diameter internal torus, 1.7km circle access corridor, eight docking ports on outside opposite the eight spokes and layer between outer and inner torus is filled with bags of water. About 100 Million gallons max, I think. About 550m diameter, so doesn't spin fast enough for full 1G simulation, but enough so your bones don't waste away. Hub has the Fusion power source.

I'm accepting orders. Payment by Paypal, IBAN or the Caemorian Credits virtual barter system.

 

[Mirannan]

I was going to use an Alderson disk for one of my novel projects, buy nah, too small and inflexible - I'm going for some much bigger, more complex and much able to generate variety of conditions (I didn't like the lack of a day/night cycle!)

Raw material might be a sticking point for one of those things; they would mass more than the star.

Actually, it's possible to have a day/night cycle although one would never get more than twilight. How? Set the local star to bob up and down through the hole in the middle. (Yes, in this case it would be the star doing the bobbing!)

 

[Venusian Broon]

Raw material might be a sticking point for one of those things; they would mass more than the star.

Actually, it's possible to have a day/night cycle although one would never get more than twilight. How? Set the local star to bob up and down through the hole in the middle. (Yes, in this case it would be the star doing the bobbing!)

Mass - to the (many) Mega-Hyper Alien civilisations that have made this object in my upcoming project, getting enough mass there won't have been a problem (plus the object will have been there for a very ,very long time) !

But I can see it as a very valid problem for constructing a 'fresh' one.

As regards the day/night cycle, no I need better than a twilight/night cycle.

I still have to work out the orbital dynamics of some of my leading contenders though, to see if they past muster (at least theoretically - I know that in practical terms none will )

 

[martin321]

My favourite space structure is Orbitsville, which is a dyson sphere and appears in a book of the same name by Bob Shaw. I like it because it is big, I mean, really *big*.

 

[chrispenycate]

My present construction isn't as large as any of the previous few, but it is big for Earth orbit, consisting of an orbital tower working as the axle of a twenty kilometre diameter, six-spoke wheel rotating on the biggest magnetic bearing in the solar system. Not just the outer, Earth normal gee rim but a couple of inner rings at roughly Martian and approximately Lunar.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

My present construction isn't as large as any of the previous few

Have you an online catalogue and prices?

 

[JunkMonkey]

My favourite space structure is Orbitsville, which is a dyson sphere and appears in a book of the same name by Bob Shaw. I like it because it is big, I mean, really *big*.

Mine too. My mind was well and truly boggled by Orbitsville when I read it as a kid (serialised in Galaxy magazine I seem to remember). I was less impressed by it when I reread it a couple of years ago. Still like the sphere, I just found the story less than engaging.

Another is the ramshackle habitat built from salvage and scrap occupied by the Scientific People in Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination / Tiger Tiger.