Photographs
IMPORTANT NOTE: Wow, I hope that got your attention. I'm thinking of doing plans of this spacecraft. However, I am not a true expert in the subject of "real space" and it is doubtless that this site probably has quite a few scientific errors. I believe that the station's layout should be directly influenced by the society of the time.
The interior layout would probably be somewhat spartan, as depicted in the film. But there are many more things to consider:
What are the living quarters like?
What sort of labs are used?
How are the essential systems (life support, plumbing, air conditioning, waste water recycling, garbage disposal, you name it) laid out?
How much room is used by commercial facilities?
How was it built? (Everything must connect together, as if the station was built module-by-module)
How do spacecraft dock,and what kind of facilities do they use?
Why is everything built around a frame, and how did it effect construction?
Also, 2001 did not predict computer miniaturization, and this must also be shown in the finished layout. The goal of the project is to create a layout as detailed (but more realistic) as the countless Star Trek blueprints available.
Specifications
Overall Diameter: 189 m.
Overall Draft: 73 m.
Hub Diameter: 40 m.
Overall Mass: 68,000 Standard Tonnes
Capacity: 150
Rotation Rate: 1.3 per minute
Gravity at Outer Ring: 0.18 of Earth
Hangar Capacity: Three Spaceplanes (One Orion III, Two Titov V or similar) One Moon Shuttle (Aries series) 14 Grumman DC-5 EVA Pods
Start Date: 04/11/94
Estimated Completion Date: 05/2003
Commercial Involvement:
When first designed, "SS5" was to have been the ultimate expression of 20th Century technical progress. This massive, 600-foot wide orbiting outpost was intended to be the stepping platform for manned interplanetary missions. One of the largest international projects of all time, "SS5" still has yet to achieve any real scientific potential. Many experts argue the contributing factor as being the ever-expanding "corporate takeover" of space.
The first concepts for the station dated back to 1981. At the time, the entire concept seemed completely ridiculous. It wasn't for another five years that anyone really took the idea seriously. When detailed plans for the new station made their way to the NCA, the reaction was remarkable. With this one design, the relatively tiny space stations that preceded it could finally be relegated to less-important tasks. SS5 was originally designed to be able to manufacture small spacecraft.
When news of this amazing station reached the public, several dozen major corporations took serious interest. Commercial space flight was, at the time, a rather silly idea. It was time to change that, they believed. The only design that was taken seriously was the Bell Videophone.
That one decision caused a wave of controversy. Was SS5 going to be transformed into a hotel? Pan American had already expressed interest in a relatively inexpensive earth-to-station transport, then titled "Orion." They promised the NCA a large portion of profits, and quickly cornered the commercial space flight market.
Eventually, in the interest of "lack of funding", the NCA accepted virtually every proposal from various corporations. Such facilities as the Howard Johnson Earthlight room and Cafeteria, Bell Videophone booth, and even several Hilton single-person cabins were included in the design. Critics dismissed this; saying the finished station would have "more product placement then a James Bond film".
By 1994, when SS5 began construction, nearly 1/6th of "Wheel A" was planned for commercial facilities. Some NCA officials were annoyed by this, but many welcomed the idea, hoping to receive for funding for their Discovery project.
By Late 2000, SS5 had not yet hosted a single deep-space mission. Essentially, it operated as a giant hotel, it's extensive scientific facilities and huge laboratories operating at only 50% of normal levels. It was intended to dock the Discovery Prototype spacecraft, but this never came to be.
So far, Space Station Five has been a failure, compared to original design. With the recent development of sophisticated "Artificial Intelligence" computers, many laboratory facilities remain completely unmanned. There are no plans for any hotel facilities on Wheel B, but the "groundbreaking" rise of AI will leave many potential station personnel out of work.