SSI Plans Orbital Lab Module

Some 35 years ago Gerald K. O'Neill founded The Space Studies Institute to support research that would make it possible to create a permanent human presence in space. Recently the Princeton New Jersey headquarters were moved to the Mojave, California, where much of the activity of the new commercial space industry is centered. Last December, Gary Hudson, a long-time space entrepreneur, became president of SSI.

At the Space Access ’12 conference in Phoenix, Hudson will announced a bold new initiative for SSI. SSI plans to focus on one flagship project called G-Lab which is designed to answer one question: how much gravity is needed for the permanent human settlement of space?

0g is not good for your health. Bone and muscle loss are just two of the effects that would prevent humans from engaging in long term space exploration, but little is know about the range from 0-1g. The G-lab is designed to answer this question.