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    How fast would a rotating space station need to spin to simulate Earth gravity?[OC]
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    How fast would a rotating space station need to spin to simulate Earth gravity?[OC]


    Graph shows the RPM required to create Earth-like gravity, based on the radius of the station. I used a log scale for radius to show everything from 10-meters to planet-sized rings.

    A station the size of the ISS would need to rotate 4+ times per minute, which would be physically uncomfortable for long-term habitation.

    The comfort zone for humans appears around 900m to 4km radius, where rotation rates stay under 1 RPM.

    A ring the size of Earth only needs 0.012 RPM—or one rotation every 85 minutes.

    Posted by towertwelve

    View 10 Comments

    10 Comments

    1. malcolmmonkey on

      Pretty sure they tested this on the ground with a rotating capsule and everyone was violently sick.

    2. PaddlefootCanada on

      I would be interested in seeing Babylon 5 or any of the Earth Alliance ships with spinning sections included on this chart…

    4. comradeluke on

      Given that negative rotation isn’t possible, aligning O rpm with the origin would make this easier to read.

    5. Allu71 on

      It should be fine as long as you block out the windows right? Only acceleration matters

    6. KevBurnsJr on

      > physically uncomfortable for long-term habitation

      Given they had physical windows. Replace windows with high res displays and recalculate.

    7. RideWithMeTomorrow on

      Interesting graph, OP. One little side note is that a rotating station wouldn’t necessarily have to be in the shape of a ring. You could have a barbell-shaped station, which might be advantageous because you can have a longer radius with less construction material compared to a ring.

    8. scraperbase on

      So 17 rotations per day would be enough for a ring with the radius of Earth. As Earth does one rotation a day, does that mean that at the equator is 1/17 less than at the poles?

    9. Trifusi0n on

      For short term trips, like a week or two stay, is full Earth gravity needed?

      I would guess even a low amount of gravity would feel much more comfortable than zero g and would help the body function as usual. I’d imagine space stations with Martian (~1/3g) and Lunar (~1/6g) will be common in the future.