This article explores Gerard O'Neill's visionary concept of orbital habitats, detailed in the 1977 NASA-funded study "Space Settlements: A Design Study." O'Neill, a physicist and glider pilot, questioned whether planets were the ideal locations for technological civilization's expansion. The study proposed self-sufficient civilian settlements in space, featuring a 1.8-kilometer diameter torus with thousands of residents, simulated gravity, and lunar resource extraction. Strikingly, the envisioned communities were depicted as idyllic and green, reflecting a desire for peaceful, pastoral living even in space. AI
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RANK_REASON The article discusses historical concepts of space habitats and does not contain new information about AI.