One of the most important uses for a space colony would be for the colony tomaintain a large Solar Power Satellite (SPS) nearby. SPS's are giant solar collectors which would orbit the earth, just like Terra Nova. They could collect "free" solar energy and then beam it back down to earth by microwave to receiving antennas.
The advantages of having an SPS in orbit instead of on Earth are many. First of all, anything orbiting Earth is in sunlight 99% of the time, whereas on Earth we only receive sunlight in the daytime. This only occurs if it is not cloudy, and after the sunlight has lost much of its power coming through the atmosphere. In orbit, an SPS can get 1.365 kW of power per mē almost continuously. If you had an SPS that was 2km by 50km, it could collect 13.5 billion watts (13.5 gW) of electricity in a year. That is 13 times the amount of energy produced by the world's biggest nuclear power plant. Also, unlike coal, oil, and other nonrenewable industries, the sun's energy will never go away (until several billion years in the future, anyway). It will not pollute the earth, nor will it take up large areas of land. Although its receiving antenna is about 7 km across, it could be made of fine wire mesh supported off the ground. It would block the microwaves, but allow all types of precipitation to go through. You could even use the land underneath for growing crops or grazing cattle.
Some people fear that the microwaves used in beaming the SPS's energy back down to earth could be harmful to people, and perhaps could even be used as a terrorist's weapon. Both of these fears are unnecessary. The Department of Energy studied the SPS beam and could not find that it had any harmful environmental effects. The wattage per square metre which it sends down is only half that of sunlight. To ease people's concerns, though, the SPS receiving antennas could be placed in remote locations in different parts of the world so no one country would have a monopoly over its benefits or its downfalls. As for the worry of terrorists using it as a sort of "death- ray" to kill many people, it would be next to impossible. An SPS would be controlled by radio, so if it strayed off course, the link could be broken and its beam would be harmless.
An SPS system is probably the most compelling reason to begin the colonization of space. It would provide the Earth, which is becoming more and more resource deprived every day, with free solar energy. It would cut down the effects of pollution on Earth while distributing energy all over the globe. This in turn would cut down political power over resource rich areas of Earth, and prevent many wars. Terra Nova's part in producing this system would be to look after and maintain one of a number of SPS's orbiting the Earth.
Another purpose for Terra Nova would be to develop and produce several different techniques in space which would make products to export to earth, and start a whole new type of industry - space industry.
Space has a unique property that can only be utilized in space; it has no gravity. Although Terra Nova would have artificial gravity on the outside of its rings, the three hubs would not. These areas of zero-gravity could be used to produce the products in a space industry.
Already tests have been done on shuttle missions which use a zero-gravity technique for separating chemicals, which are then used to produce valuable drugs. This process is called electrophoresis, and it involves having a sample containing desired materials flowing through a solution between positive and negative electric terminals. Since different molecular particles have different sizes and charges, they gather at different terminals at different times. This then allows a pure sample of the chemical to be collected easily. This process works much better in zero-gravity than on Earth. The "blobs" that collect at the terminals on Earth simply collapse because of Earth's gravity. This technique has already been used successfully in space to produce drugs which were then brought back to Earth. New products could be developed on Terra Nova using this process. They could be mass produced, and then exported back to Earth.
Another industry which would thrive under the conditions of zero-gravity would be the production of ball bearings. With no gravity, the liquid metal would form perfect spheres. These spheres could be produced as ball bearings and sent back to Earth, where their work efficiency would be greatly improved. Other industries such as crystal, magnet and glass production would also benefit from zero-gravity conditions. Perfect crystals, better magnets, and excellent qualities of glass of the type needed in microscopes and telescopes could all be made on Terra Nova.
Terra Nova could also serve as an outpost in the wilderness for travelling space crews from other colonies, the Moon, and Earth. She could provide fuel to shuttles and rockets that dock there, as well as food and shelter for the vehicles' crew and passengers. Her docks could also be filled with shuttles transporting goods to and from Terra Nova from the Earth and the Moon.
With the beginning of new space industries, areas would be needed to house both production factories and their new workers. Terra Nova could provide both.
Terra Nova could be used to further mankind's knowledge of space, the stars, other planets, and our own world, Earth in the same way that the space shuttles and space stations of today are used. Many of her residents would be scientists who would conduct experiments in the zero-g area of the hub, the half-g area of the two outer rings, and the full-g area of the inner ring.
From Terra Nova, astronomers could get views of the heavens unlike any found on Earth. Unhindered by the presence of daylight, or that of clouds, pollution, or city lights, astronomers could study the stars whenever they wanted, getting pictures with a quality unmatched by any taken on Earth.
These same astronomers could view places closer to home, the Earth and the Moon. This would then enable them to theorize about their formation, to observe atmosphere and weather variations, and to see new landmarks on both of these worlds from a bird's-eye perspective.
In the new world of space, scientists could perform experiments, invent products, and ship these new goods, new ideas, and new techniques back to Earth for money, or simply for the expansion of mankind's knowledge. Space is also a perfect testing ground for new space products. Prototypes of spaceships, rockets, and mass transportation systems to be used in space could first be developed on Terra Nova. She could be our stepping stone to Mars, the outer planets, and beyond. The spacecraft that take us there have to developed somewhere, and what better place to create and test them than in space?
Terra Nova would become the centre of new ideas, new theories, and new things. When man comes to a new environment, he cannot help but try all these things out, in order to adapt and develop his own environment. Space is that new environment.
Since the beginning of time, all humans have had some desire, some interest, or some hunger to explore their surroundings. We have a need to grow and expand. If we have the ability to go somewhere, we will. If we can explore someplace new, we will jump at the chance. Unfortunately, today the earth offers few places to explore that have not been seen before. However, there is one place left for human exploration. In the words of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, "Space is the final frontier."
The advantage of building colonies in space is that we are gaining new land instead of taking it away from someone else on Earth. We can fulfill our need to grow and expand without stepping on anyone else's toes. Humanity can spread without starting wars or destroying Earth's fragile biosphere.
Space colonies such as Terra Nova would be a nice place in which to live. The people living there would have all the advantages of living in space, but would do so in an environment much like their home world. Terra Nova would offer beautiful views of space to its citizens, as well as offering recreational activities you could never find on Earth. Zero and low-gravity activities could take place in the hubs of Terra Nova, and her outer rings. They could include sports, dancing, and swimming. Dancers could jump many times higher than the greatest ballet dancers on Earth. People could experience the sensation of swimming, but without water, in the zero-gravity areas of the hub.
Terra Nova would also be the queen of all gated communities. On Earth, we are forced to live in environments and with people we might not necessarily like. In Terra Nova, if no one makes pollution, no one has to deal with pollution. If immigration is to be limited, there are miles upon miles of vacuum sealing the colony off from the rest of humanity. Earth has diverse groups of people living close together, and this often leads to conflict. Space colonies provide an alternative to that conflict. That does not mean we have to segregate ourselves from other cultures, though. We would just be able to pick who we want in our colony to avoid as much conflict as possible.
Terra Nova's environment could be tailored to fit its citizens' likes and dislikes. If the people living there like trees, Terra Nova's parks can be filled with trees. If they like water, the parks can be filled with ponds. Her citizens could design their own environment.
Terra Nova could also be the stepping stone for larger projects. From her, we could launch interplanetary, and eventually intersolar space travel. The spacecraft needed to take us to Mars and elsewhere could be designed and developed by her citizens. Terra Nova herself would be an example of the closed biospheres the first colonists of Mars will have to live in.
Terra Nova would allow man to answer his wishes to explore beyond his own backyard, to grow, and to have new, beautiful places in which to live. She would in herself meet those needs, and more. From Terra Nova, we could stretch our boundaries, and go above and beyond space as we know it.