Rotational Artificial Gravity

The cluster discusses using rotation or tumbling of spacecraft and space stations to generate artificial gravity via centrifugal force, including debates on its effectiveness, Coriolis effects, and comparisons to real gravity.

📉 Falling 0.3x Science
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#90
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Keywords

wikipedia.org youtube.com AKA popularmechanics.com i.e preview.redd NASA gravity acceleration rotating spin force spinning vacuum forces altitude artificial

Sample Comments

tfha Nov 24, 2017 View on HN

Wouldn't tumbling a spaceship give you some basic gravity? Isn't that a desired outcome?

eclectic Dec 15, 2017 View on HN

Maybe it just rotates to create artificial gravity.

Turbots May 4, 2016 View on HN

Rotate the ship fast enough to mimic 1G gravity... Solved!

lawlessone Nov 24, 2017 View on HN

How is it tumbling? Could that provide a force to simulate gravity?

defen Aug 29, 2012 View on HN

Don't forget this happened while he was in a spacecraft orbiting the earth when this happened, AKA free-fall or (approximately) zero-g until it started spinning. Here on earth it's probably not even possible to recreate the conditions he experienced.

hermitcrab Aug 6, 2025 View on HN

A large spacecraft doesn't have to spin very fast to simulate 1g. So probably not.

tocomment Nov 16, 2010 View on HN

Could this be the first step towards artificial gravity, or inertial dampeners?

xwdv Jan 14, 2021 View on HN

These rotating stations don’t necessarily recreate gravity perfectly right? You’ll note strange behavior if you drop objects or jump.

throwaway290 Jul 12, 2022 View on HN

Does this address the Coriolis effect and other issues that make rotational "gravity" feel really weird compared to actual gravity (6:58 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nxeMoaxUpWk)?

asperous Oct 12, 2023 View on HN

https://www.popularmechanics.com/space/rockets/a8965/why-don...