The Development of Earth’s Orbit

The U.S. space program once promised us an era of planetary exploration and optimism about the future. But did you know that the first manned rockets are closer to the Wright brothers' first airplane than to today? Progress has slowed in recent years, and NASA's interest in manned space exploration has faded. However, private companies have recently found value in space exploration and are focusing on Earth's orbit as the next stage of expanding our presence beyond Earth. Building off of the International Space Station, multiple private companies are competing for prestige and funding by building their own private space stations. Because space tourism will be an important industry early on, there is an ongoing effort into helping people live more comfortably and safely in space. Later on, it will become necessary for many people to live and work in Earth's orbit, and massive orbital habitats will be developed.

Our presence in Earth’s orbit is currently limited to around ten thousand active, but unmanned, satellites in Earth’s orbit. We only have two manned space stations, one being China’s Tiangong and the other being the International Space Station. The first module of the International Space Station was launched in 1998, and the station has been continuously occupied for the past 24 years. As humanity’s main presence in orbit of Earth, it has provided important research into the effects of zero gravity on the human body and other topics. Despite the station's many achievements, Russia is leaving the project this year, and NASA plans to decommission the ISS by the end of the decade. NASA wants to continue to conduct research in Low Earth Orbit, but in the future, they plan to work with commercial partners. On their website, NASA stated that they "... will partner with seven U.S. companies to meet future commercial and government needs, ultimately benefiting human spaceflight and the U.S. commercial low Earth orbit economy." These will range from companies that provide launch capabilities to those building and supplying the stations themselves.

One of the collaborators for the Commercial Destinations in Low Earth Orbit Program is Vast's Haven-1, a single-module station set to launch no earlier than May 2026. As future modules are completed, they will be attached so that the Haven-1 station will grow and increase its capabilities. There are plans to simulate lunar gravity as one of the experiments on Haven-1, which is a step forward toward having a long-term human presence in space. According to Rhett Allain, an associate professor of physics at Southeastern Louisiana University, "Humans function best on Earth’s surface, where they are affected by a constant gravitational force. Without it, there are well-known consequences of long-term exposure to microgravity, including bone mass loss and muscle atrophy." Although artificial gravity seems like science fiction, it is entirely possible for us to simulate the effects of gravity with our current technology. Gravity is the acceleration of objects toward each other. An alternative way to create acceleration is through rotation. In a rotating space habitat, you are on the inside of a circular object, like a ring. As it and you turn together, you are pushed away from its axis of rotation. This gives your body the same healthy effects that gravity does.

Some futurists believe that one day, more people will live in artificial habitats than on the surface of planets. One reason is the nearly unlimited amount of space available. When land on Earth is needed for so many different things and people, it makes sense to expand outward to the next logical spot where we have space. With enough raw materials, we could create living space in Earth's orbit for many times our current population. Beyond being living space for people, physicist Gerard O'Neill, who created the O'Neill cylinder concept, proposes that rotating space habitats could offer environments more comfortable and productive than most areas on Earth. We may have a long way to go to get to this point, but the goal is clear, and one day, billions of people will call space habitats their home.

Our journey into space started over six decades ago, and we have come a long way. The International Space Station provided a testing ground for new methods and research, and even though its decommissioning is drawing near, new opportunities for commercial space stations are arising. Space development companies are closing in on beginning their own stations, which will increase our presence in Earth's orbit. Vast is making new technology available for vastly improving people's health in weightless environments through creating spin gravity. And one day, these developments and many more will pave the way for humanity to live in space. One day, a person could spend their entire life in one of many unique and interesting space habitats, and entire generations will be born and thrive in orbit—never touching the surface of a planet.

Works Cited

Allain, Rhett. “The Problem With Spinning Spacecraft.” WIRED, Condé Nast, 11 November 2022, https://www.wired.com/story/the-problem-with-spinning-spacecraft/. Accessed 20 February 2025.

Bardan, Roxana, et al. “Seven US Companies Collaborate with NASA to Advance Space Capabilities.” NASA, 15 June 2023, https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/seven-us-companies-collaborate-with-nasa-to-advance-space-capabilities/. Accessed 20 February 2025.

Munroe, Randall Patrick. Airplanes and Spaceships. 19 November 2018. xkcd, https://xkcd.com/2074. Accessed 25 February 2025.

O'Neill, Gerard K. “The Colonization of Space.” Physics Today, vol. 27, no. 9, 1974, pp. 32-40. National Space Society, https://nss.org/the-colonization-of-space-gerard-k-o-neill-physics-today-1974. Accessed 25 February 2025.