Space Studies Institute is a
not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1977 by
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...
Professor
Gerard K. O'Neill.
In 2009 SSI moved its operations from its long-term base in Princeton, New Jersey, to Mojave, California. SSI is involved in several initiatives, including a solar sail project that it is developing with Carnegie Mellon University and an effort to find asteroids that could be mined for valuable materials. The use of extraterrestrial resources in
space settlement has received increasing attention in recent years.
The Institute has sponsored research studies on several transport systems for the development of space. Their first program was in the development of prototype
mass driver
A mass driver or electromagnetic catapult is a proposed method of non-rocket spacelaunch which would use a linear motor to accelerate and catapult payloads up to high speeds. Existing and contemplated mass drivers use coils of wire energized by e ...
systems. They are also studying the use of an ''Orbital Transfer Vehicle'' as a component of space manufacturing. Other areas of research include a search for Earth-Sun Trojan
asteroids, a design study of a ''Lunar Polar Probe'' to search for water and useful volatiles at the poles of the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, and studies of reuse of the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
external tank. O'Neill performed a study of a large space habitat named ''
Island Three
An O'Neill cylinder (also called an O'Neill colony) is a space settlement concept proposed by American physicist Gerard K. O'Neill in his 1976 book '' The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space''. O'Neill proposed the colonization of space for ...
'' that could house 10,000,000 people.
See also
*
Space advocacy
Space advocacy is supporting or advocating for a human use of outer space. Purposes advocated can reach from space exploration, or commercial use of space to even space settlement. There are many different individuals and organizations dedicat ...
*
Space manufacturing
Space manufacturing is the production of tangible goods beyond Earth. Since most production capabilities are limited to low Earth orbit, the term in-orbit manufacturing is also frequently used.
There are several rationales supporting in-space ...
*
Associated Universities, Inc.
Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a research management corporation that builds and operates facilities for the research community. AUI is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, headquartered in Washington, DC. The President is Dr. Adam ...
*
Space Science Institute
References
External links
Space Studies InstituteScience CentralSmithsonian/NASAFreeman Dyson's bio of Gerard K. O'NeillVideo archive of the conferences
Space organizations
Non-profit organizations based in California
Organizations established in 1977
Freeman Dyson
Space advocacy organizations
Space manufacturing
{{Nonprofit-org-stub