Stanford torus

The Stanford torus is a proposed NASA design[1] for a space settlement capable of housing 10,000 to 140,000 permanent residents.

"Stanford torus" refers only to this particular version of the design, as the concept of a ring-shaped rotating space station was previously proposed by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky ("Bublik-City", 1903),[5] Herman Potočnik (1923)[6] or Wernher von Braun (1952),[7] among others.

Since the hub is at the rotational axis of the station, it experiences the least artificial gravity and is the easiest location for spacecraft to dock.

[10] The 1975 NASA Summer Study evaluated several options for the space habitat design, including spherical and cylindrical shapes, in addition to the toroidal one.

The torus was chosen as the best option, among other reasons, because it minimized the amount of mass required to have the same area and radius of rotation.

Exterior view of a Stanford torus. Bottom center is the non-rotating primary solar mirror, which reflects sunlight onto the angled ring of secondary mirrors around the hub. Painting by Donald E. Davis.
Interior of a Stanford torus, painted by Donald E. Davis
Collage of figures and tables of Stanford Torus space habitat, from Space Settlements: A Design Study book. Charles Holbrow and Richard D. Johnson, NASA, 1977.