Some say that Space is not as harsh as it's made out to be. There are private companies that charge about $8,000 to let people launch their own private satellites. Maybe in the near future we will be allowed to go up in space in private space crafts.
How to build your own personal satellite
The Ancient Egyptians described space as cosmic waters.
http://genesisjournal.blogspot.com/2004/09/was-atlantis-exploded-planet.html
Hence the Egyptians imagined planets as "islands" floating in the cosmic waters, the latter surely being the "true ocean" described by Plato.
Any colonies in space would have to be built similarly to Vacuum houses that was proposed in 1932
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/vacuum-bottle-houses-from-1932.html
They were really on to something here. At the time this was proposed they were worried about the return of an ice age but it works for warm climates too:
"Why, then, have we never adopted the most perfect form of insulated house known to science—the vacuum bottle? Not that the house would necessarily look like a vacuum jug; it would simply make use of the insulation principles which keep liquids in such a container hot or cold for hours."
They figured out the engineering:
It is obvious that we must be careful in the design and construction of our vacuum bottle houses if they are to withstand an atmospheric pressure that will amount to over ten pounds per square inch (this is for a partial and not a complete vacuum). No merely double concrete wall will withstand this.
Consequently the wall must be made cellular; that is, honey-combed with tiny chambers inter-connected so that air will pass freely from one to the other. A good idea of this construction will be gained from the drawing. By the use of this sort of construction, great pressure may be safely withstood and there would be no danger of a house falling victim to the relentless atmosphere.
How to build your own personal satellite
The Ancient Egyptians described space as cosmic waters.
http://genesisjournal.blogspot.com/2004/09/was-atlantis-exploded-planet.html
Hence the Egyptians imagined planets as "islands" floating in the cosmic waters, the latter surely being the "true ocean" described by Plato.
Any colonies in space would have to be built similarly to Vacuum houses that was proposed in 1932
http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-product-design/vacuum-bottle-houses-from-1932.html
They were really on to something here. At the time this was proposed they were worried about the return of an ice age but it works for warm climates too:
"Why, then, have we never adopted the most perfect form of insulated house known to science—the vacuum bottle? Not that the house would necessarily look like a vacuum jug; it would simply make use of the insulation principles which keep liquids in such a container hot or cold for hours."
They figured out the engineering:
It is obvious that we must be careful in the design and construction of our vacuum bottle houses if they are to withstand an atmospheric pressure that will amount to over ten pounds per square inch (this is for a partial and not a complete vacuum). No merely double concrete wall will withstand this.
Consequently the wall must be made cellular; that is, honey-combed with tiny chambers inter-connected so that air will pass freely from one to the other. A good idea of this construction will be gained from the drawing. By the use of this sort of construction, great pressure may be safely withstood and there would be no danger of a house falling victim to the relentless atmosphere.
