Space stations and habitats in fiction

The difference between the two is that habitats are larger and more complex structures intended as permanent homes for substantial populations (though generation ships also fit this description, they are usually not considered space habitats as they are heading for a destination[1]), but the line between the two is fuzzy with significant overlap and the term space station is sometimes used for both concepts.

Among these are industry, health benefits due to low gravity, prisons, and means to observe alien worlds.

[2] Military uses for space stations appear, but being portrayed as a direct threat is comparatively rare.

[2] The first fictional space habitat proper (not counting the unintentional one in "The Brick Moon") was featured in the 1931 novella "The Prince of Space" by Jack Williamson;[1] it is a cylinder 1,520 metres (5,000 ft) long and wide which rotates to create artificial gravity.

[3][4][7] The works inspired by O'Neill range from utopian to dystopian; the latter foresee a wide variety of problems with space habitats, including dilapidation while humans are still living there, vulnerability to sabotage, and the potential for a wealthy elite in space to exploit the inhabitants of Earth.