Architectural Experiments in Space: Orbital Stations, Simulators and Speculative Design, 1968–82

Abstract

Comparing contexts of operation, simulation and speculation, this chapter lays out the architectural bandwidth of space habitats that probed the human-technology relationship during the post-Apollo period. As tangible backdrops within which real, experimental or conceptual space missions unfolded in the actual outer space environment, ground-based laboratories or in sets as part of film productions, these habitats offered an unprecedentedly complex reflection of the human condition. Although the vision of an interplanetary future remained elusive, the design and operation of habitable platforms in real, simulated and speculative space offered an invaluable baseline of hard evidence and critical impulse in parallel, and provided a comprehensive opportunity to map out, understand and discuss futures in outer space.