Design of an Affordable Near-Term Variable Gravity Research Facility in Cislunar Space

A number of concepts have been proposed for variable gravity space stations but all have foundered on the issue of size and cost. The conventional wisdom is that such a station would have to be comparable in scale to the International Space Station, with the added complication of rotating systems such as photovoltaic arrays, communications systems, and docking interfaces. The costs and logistics challenges are greatly magnified when the station is designed for cislunar space rather than low Earth orbit.
This paper reviews the concept of artificial gravity in space habitats, and summarizes three case studies of detailed rotating space station designs, the last of which is specifically intended as a near-term affordable research facility to study human physiological adaptation to different gravity levels. Based on lessons learned from these design activities, this paper abstracts some critical design issues in space architectural aspects of partial gravity stations, and discusses the next logical steps in pursuing this area of development.