Lagrange point colonization: Difference between revisions

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'''Lagrange point colonization''' is a proposed form of [[Space_colonization#Near-Earth space|space colonization]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2012/07/31/death-of-a-sci-fi-dream-free-floating-space-colonies-hit-economic-reality/#3f0895e77431|title=Death Of A Sci-Fi Dream: Free-Floating Space Colonies Hit Economic Reality|last=Dorminey|first=Bruce|author-link=Bruce Dorminey|date=July 31, 2012|website=Forbes|access-date=December 17, 2018}}</ref> of the five equilibrium points in the orbit of a planet or its primary moon, called [[Lagrange point]]s.

The Lagrange points {{L4}} and {{L5}} are stable if the mass of the larger body is at least 25 times the mass of the secondary body.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fitzpatrick|first1=Richard|title=Stability of Lagrange Points|url=http://farside.ph.utexas.edu/teaching/336k/Newtonhtml/node126.html|website=Newtonian Dynamics|publisher=University of Texas}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Greenspan|first1=Thomas|title=Stability of the Lagrange Points, L4 and L5|url=http://www.math.cornell.edu/~templier/junior/final_paper/Thomas_Greenspan-Stability_of_Lagrange_points.pdf|date=January 7, 2014}}</ref> Thus, the points L₄ and L₅ in the Earth–Moon system have been proposed as possible sites for space colonies.<ref name="o'neill">{{cite journal |last1=O'Neill |first1=Gerard K. |author1-link=Gerard K. O'Neill |title=The colonization of space |journal=Physics Today |date=September 1974 |volume=27 |issue=9 |pages=32–40 |doi=10.1063/1.3128863 |access-datebibcode=71974PhT....27i..32O June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Lagrangian Points L4 and L5 |url=https://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/stargaze/Slagrng2.htm |website=pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=7 June 2021}}</ref> The [[L5 Society]] was founded to promote settlement by building space stations at these points.

[[Gerard K. O'Neill]] suggested in 1974 that the Earth–Moon L₅ point, in particular, could fit several thousands of floating colonies, and would allow easy travel to and from the colonies due to the shallow [[effective potential]] at this point. A contemporary NASA team estimated that a 500,000-tonne colony would cost US$5.1&nbsp;billion (equivalent to US${{inflation|US|5.1|1974}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation/year|US}}) to build.<ref name="o'neill"/>