''The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space'' is a 1976 book by

Gerard K. O'Neill Gerard Kitchen O'Neill (February 6, 1927 – April 27, 1992) was an American physicist and space activist. As a faculty member of Princeton University, he invented a device called the particle storage ring for high-energy physics experiments. L ...

, a road map for what the United States might do in outer space after the Apollo program, the drive to place a human on the Moon and beyond. It envisions large human occupied

habitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

in the Earth-Moon system, especially near stable

Lagrangian point In celestial mechanics, the Lagrange points (; also Lagrangian points or libration points) are points of equilibrium for small-mass objects under the influence of two massive orbiting bodies. Mathematically, this involves the solution of th ...

s. Three designs are proposed: Island one (a modified

Bernal sphere A Bernal sphere is a type of space habitat intended as a long-term home for permanent residents, first proposed in 1929 by John Desmond Bernal. Bernal's original proposal described a hollow non-rotating spherical shell in diameter, with a tar ...

), Island two (a Stanford torus), and Island 3 (two O'Neill cylinders). These would be constructed using raw materials from the lunar surface launched into space using a mass driver and from

near-Earth asteroids A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). ...

. The habitats were to spin for simulated gravity and be illuminated and powered by the Sun.

Solar power satellite Space-based solar power (SBSP, SSP) is the concept of collecting solar power in outer space by solar power satellites (SPS) and distributing it to Earth. Its advantages include a higher collection of energy due to the lack of reflection and ab ...

s were proposed as a possible industry to support the habitats.

Awards

The book won the 1977 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science.

Illustrations

The book featured impressions of life in outer space by a number of artists including Don Davis, Rick Guidice, and

Chesley Bonestell Chesley Knight Bonestell Jr. (January 1, 1888 – June 11, 1986) was an American painter, designer and illustrator. His paintings inspired the American space program, and they have been (and remain) influential in science fiction art and illustr ...

. Image:Spacecolony1.jpg, O'Neill cylinders Image:Spacecolony4.jpeg, Interior of an O'Neill cylinder File:Spacecolony3edit.jpeg, Interior of an O'Neill cylinder Image:Internal view of the O'Neill cylinder.jpg, Solar eclipse inside an O'Neill cylinder Image:Bernal Sphere 3.jpeg, Interior of a

Image:Bernal Sphere 2.jpeg, Cutaway of a Bernal sphere Image:External view of a Bernal sphere.jpg, Exterior of a Bernal sphere File:External view of a Bernal sphere 2.jpg, Exterior of a Bernal sphere File:Bernal Sphere agricultural module.jpeg, Agricultural module of a Bernal sphere Image:Stanford torus external view by Don Davis AC76-0525.jpg, The Stanford torus and its mirror File:Stanford torus under construction.jpg, Stanford torus under construction File:Stanford Torus Cutaway view.jpeg, Stanford torus cutaway view File:Stanford Torus interior.jpg, Interior of a Stanford torus Image:Lunar base concept drawing s78 23252.jpg, Lunar mass driver powered by solar panels. File:Solar power satellite from an asteroid.jpg, Solar power satellite built from an asteroid with a Bernal sphere in the bottom right corner.

In popular culture

Many of the concepts illustrated in ''The High Frontier'' can be seen in the early series of the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

franchise ''

Mobile Suit Gundam , also known as ''First Gundam'', ''Gundam 0079'' or simply ''Gundam '79'', is an anime television series, produced and animated by Nippon Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting ...

'', which depicts a world where humans have migrated into space colonies. The O'Neill cylinder colony design appears frequently, largely unchanged from its original concept, such as in ''

Policenauts is a graphic adventure game developed and published by Konami. It was written and directed by Hideo Kojima, and originally released for the PC-9821 in 1994. A hard science fiction story, ''Policenauts'' is set in the mid 21st century and follo ...

''. The main space station in the popular TV series, '' Babylon 5'', is similar to an O'Neill cylinder, but with internal lighting replacing the windows and mirrors.

Criticism

Science fiction writer Charles Stross wrote a critical essay with a similar title on the feasibility of interstellar space travel and making practical use of various moons and planets in the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

: ''The High Frontier: Redux.'' Stross's criticisms do not directly apply to the O'Neill's "High Frontier" document about colonizing interplanetary space.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:High Frontier, The Space colonization literature Asteroid mining 1976 books

Awards

Illustrations

In popular culture

Criticism

See also

References