Stratosphere First!

I haven't posted for a while, probably because I've been concentrating on too many things at once. Connecting now to a number of posts I did almost a year ago, I think I've gotten "stuck" on a subject that I will be on for a good a while. The pieces have now come together and I've caught a grand vision..

Stratosphere First

On our way into space we forgot one incredibly important stop: Our own atmosphere.

Our atmosphere is viewed as something to get through on the way to somewhere else. We fly through it when we go continent hopping, for instance. And although it protects us from much of space's junk in the form of meteors, we only want to get through it on our way to low-earth orbit (above ca. 150km). We see the atmosphere more as the drag that it is for these satellites than as a resource for human settlement - except, of course, in the form of cartoons like the Jetsons.

Now, there are many places on and around the earth that could be colonized - the oceans, under the ocean, high mountains, underground, deep underground, Antarctica, low-earth orbit etc.. There is one "area", however, which should be the focus of all earth and space lovers: The Stratosphere.

For a Space Lover, the Stratosphere is like a different planet - one that you would love to land on but have no suitable surface to do so. What to do? Either stay in orbit and make no direct contact with the planet or drop down into the atmosphere and set up shop. There is usable air, although it is even less than on the Martian surface, but it can be compressed, filtered and be used. Admittedly, there's almost no water that can be used. But otherwise, in the case of the earth's stratosphere, the air doesn't even need to be filtered! Except for extracting the ozone in the ozone layer.

Of course you need a space suit from the lack of air pressure, if you want to go for a "walk". Only, since you're not in orbit, you better be tied on well - or have a good parachute - just in case you slip over the side. Gravity is about the same up there as it is on the surface of the earth.

Besides, isn't it a thousand times cheaper being only 20-50km away from your supplies than thousands to billions of kilometers? Getting to and fro might be a challenge (being above where normal airplanes fly), but it's nothing like trying to supply the ISS. And underneath the ozone layer (ca. 31-34km), at least, one is protected from much of the ultraviolet radiation that the sun is throwing at us permanently.

The view is great: The sky is black so that you can go stargazing even during the day. 99% of the atmosphere is below you, so there's hardly any air to reflect all the sun's light racing by to the earth's surface. When looking down, one sees the earth as a foreign object. It covers half your view - but what curves!

For the Earth Lover: Yes, this is part of the Blue Planet. Everything that's blue (and white, if it's a cloudy day) is below you. Sunlight is a bit stronger here and there are no clouds to get in the way of your solar panels. And, since there is absolutely no wind, while the air (what little there is) is dry as a bone, thin solar can become a hard reality. There is absolutely no weather to disturb solar collection. Here you can build your house of cards as if you were inside and not have to worry about the slightest wisp of wind to knock it over. This means that after a surface has been built to lay them on, the panels, which can be built as thin as aluminum foil on a stiff sheet of plastic, only need to be laid out. They could look like stiff, blackish cold-cut packaging lying around and don't even need to be tied down!
And why not just use all that excess energy to make a bit of ozone to help out the earth rebuild what aerosols took away? This could certainly be a goal especially for the (southern) Australian inhabitants.

Here you likewise have the unique opportunity to combat global warming. Just by your very presence you would be blocking some of the sunlight which is about ready to hit the greenhouse below. Stretching out a thin, dark film (collecting energy?) would catch the sunlight pounding on the earth below. My prediction is that the global warming war will be won or lost in the stratosphere.

Besides, there's an enormous amount of research which needs to be done there: Hubble-like telescopes (meaning they are hardly disturbed by the atmosphere), weather observation, other earth observation, experiments with high altitude flight, etc..

Do you think we'll be able to keep the military away from this?

So whether you are a dreamer or a practical person, the stratosphere has something to offer everyone. It will change the way we think about "getting off the ground", building an important intermediate step before trying to colonize the solar system.

As one can see, I'm convinced. Now, who is going to join up to boldly go where no man has lived before?