6.47 VI.6.2: The Hull: The hull, as presented in Figure 6.20, was a capped cylindrical section 100 meters in radius with its nominal spin axis through the tips of the endcaps. The spin rate would lie between 2.2 and 3.0 RPM,providing pseudogravity between .5 and l.0g in the cylindrical area. That cylindrical area was set aside for agriculture. The higher-g parts of the endcaps were for human habitation,and the low-g parts of the endcaps were allocated to workshops. At the tip of one endcap was a window. Protruding from the hull around the window was a truss structure holding thrusters used for precession and attitude control. At the tip of the other endcap was a cargo airlock and docking port. This docking port assembly also supported attitude control and precession thrusters. In the center of the hull was a set of mirrors to spread sunlight onto the agricultural area. The support structure for these central mirrors was unspecified. VI.6.3: The Shield: Wrapped around the hull was the shield depicted in Figure 6.21. It was not spun and had no physical contact with the spinning hull. Its area density was 5000 kg/m 2 and the spacing between hull and shield was 5 meters. There were two holes through the shield, one for sunlight to reach the hull's window, and one for cargo to reach the hull's docking port and cargo airlock. Attached to the sunward end of the shield was a parabolic mirror which reflected sunlight to a second mirror (whose support structure was unspecified). This mirror reflected sunlight as a concentrated parallel beam through the hull's window aimed at the hull's central mirrors. At the other end of the shield was the holding area for cargo containers and the spin/despin ring assembly for the cargo transfer module. The axis of symmetry of the colony lay in the plane of the ecliptic and stayed pointed at the Sun. To do this, the colony axis rotated once per sidereal year. The shield did this by simple rotation. The spinning hull did this by precession of its spin axis using its thrusters. An active control system kept hull and shield apart.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTU5NjU0Mg==