World's First Rotating Space Station: Gateway Foundation's Concept Vs. NASA's ISS

The Gateway Foundation released its concept for the world's first rotating space station. The new idea looks like it is from a popular sci-fi movie such as "Star Trek" or "Star Wars."

Will the company's idea be better than the current design of NASA's ISS? Aside from this, is a new concept achievable?

According to Universe Today's latest report, Gateway Foundation was founded in 2012. It was formed specifically to build the first rotation space station.

Since the concept is so complex, building it will not be an easy task. The company must establish the essential infrastructure in orbit and the development of a series of smaller models to test the idea.

The Gateway rotating space station

The concept Von Braun Wheel inspired The Gateway rotating space station. The inspiration is a proposal made by Wernher von Braun, a German space architect, and rocket scientist.

The Gateway Foundation's researchers and scientists also used the idea of the pinwheel space station, which was proposed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian scientist and the father of astronauts, as well as other earlier wheel ideas.

The concept stated that the rotating space station would rely on solar energy and a closed-system greenhouse. On the other hand, the developers explained that the space station would rotate to generate artificial gravity.

Gateway Foundation's concept is also inspired by the space station in the 1968 film called "2001: A Space Odyssey." If you search all the concepts that the company followed, you'll notice that they all rely on centripetal force to stimulate the sensation of gravity.

Gateway Foundation's space station Vs. ISS

Unlike Gateway Foundation's rotating space station that relies on circular design, the International Space Station consists of different shapes. NASA Gov's PDF explained that ISS is currently the largest orbiting laboratory.

It is built by NASA, and other space agencies from Canada, Europe, Japan, and Russia. ISS includes different shapes such as triangles, beams, spheres, and canisters. It also relies on wide and flat panels. ISS orbits between 370 and 460 kilometers above the Earth's surface.

As of the moment, it is hard to conclude if the Gateway Foundation's new concept is better than NASA. It seems like people should still wait until the actual rotating space station is built. However, the new space station could take years to finish.

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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.