site as a permanent manned space station in orbit around Mars after the mission was complete. The large size and available 'elbow room' of this concept are very attractive to anybody faced with the prospect of spending several years in a VERY small room during a manned planetary mission. The torus would also be a way to fly the recently propsed 'Space Castle’ concept of large interplanetary stations. In addition to the proposed torus, the partially disassembled ET can be reconnected into almost any size and shape appropriate to the mission at hand. Several hydrogen tank barrels can be attached lenghtwise into a long tube which can be used for an electrical catapult (25). A pressurized hydrogen tank could be used as a strength member due to its increased strength under pressure. Several ET domes can be attached in an array to provide solar thermal power. ET domes (properly mirrored and shaped) can be used to concentrate sunlight on Stirling cycle heat engines for onboard power. As with any other ET application discussed in this report, the only limitations of partial disassembly and reconstruction are in the mind of the planner. III. Cutting the ET There are several plans for cutting, sectioning, and welding of the ET. One proposal uses conventional cutting and welding techniques under space conditions (20, 92). An important point to this is that conventional cutting and welding are known technologies involving known equipment being conducted under space conditions. We are very familiar with cutting and welding. There have been experiments involving welding and cutting conducted in both the US and Soviet space programs. The experiments have been successful and have warranted further study. There are welding studies being conducted in association with the construction and operation of the space station. If you can cut and weld a space station, you can also cut and weld any desired structure out of the ET. We are very familiar with the performance of aluminium being welded and cut on the earth. There is no obstacle today that prevents conventional cutting and welding in space (92). There are two other techniques for cutting the ET. The first is the use of an Electron Gun and the second is the use of reflected sunlight by a small solar fumance (56). Both methods work by heating the aluminium until it
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