Space Stations in Science Fiction

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Space Stations (tengchaH in Kligon) are artificial satellites usually orbiting planets but also occupying important locations in space. In science fiction they have been portrayed as scientific laboratories, astronomic observatories, transportation hubs, schools, and shopping malls, with the latter reflecting the increasingly intense retailing in contemporary international airports. If large enough, space stations might be orbital cities.

Writers appear reluctant to describe non-human space stations. One exception to this rule is Empok Nor, but it was already abandoned by the Cardassians who constructed it before humans encountered them or it.

The NASA site is a helpful description of the only existing space station: the International Space Station or I.S.S. See the Gizmondo article for the relative size of the I.S.S. Public awareness of the International Space Station also means that space stations can serve as devices for thrillers set in the near future. For example in the disappointing July 6, 2006 made-for-tv movie In the Dead of Space, the characters must confront a terrorist plot to crash a nuclear powered space station somewhere in the United States.

Contents

[edit] List of Space Stations in Science Fiction

[edit] A

ATG-311-B (former asteroid Musashi) - Wil McCarthy's Aggressor Six, Pp. 66-67
Aerie (L4) - John Barnes's The Duke of Uranium, A Princess of the Aerie, and In the Hall of the Mountain King
Ariadne - Roger MacBride Allen's Rogue Power
Arkology (pacifist population) - Andromeda television series
Asterome (later a Generation Ship) - George Zebrowski's Macrolife: A Mobile Utopia
Austro Satellite - Karin Lowarchee's Burndrive
Avernus - Brian W. Aldiss's Helliconia Trilogy (cultural anthropological observatory)

[edit] B

Babylon 4 - Babylon 5
Babylon 5 (military base, shopping mall) - Babylon 5
Basilisk - David Weber's On Basilisk Station, Honorverse
Battle School - Orson Scott Card's 1977 Ender's Game, unending reference (military school to train child soldiers)
Bengal Station - Eric Brown's Bengal Station
Bliss Satellite - Philip K. Dick's The Crack in Space
Brenneman Medical Facility (orbiting the planet Phoenix) in John Scalzi's Old Man's War
Bubble Hood - Wil McCarthy's Lost in Transmission
Bubbles Congeries (one of two technocratic democracies orbiting Earth/Luna) - Fritz Leiber's A Specter is Haunting Texas
Bulero Orbital Factory - George Zebrowski's Macrolife: A Mobile Utopia

[edit] C

Chai Pong - Jack McDevitt's Polaris, Pp. 229-230
Chronos Station - Allen Steel's ChronosSpace
The Chateau - Carl Sagan's Contact: A Novel, p. 283
Circumluna (one of two technocratic democracies orbiting Earth/Luna) - Fritz Leiber's A Specter is Haunting Texas
City - Poul Anderson's World Without Stars
Clarke County, Space - Allen Steele's 1990 Clarke County Space (transportation hub, shopping mall, community for oddballs)
Colonial Station - John Scalzi's Old Man's War
Command School - Orson Scott Card's 1977 Ender's Game, brief reference (military school)
Circumlunar Catena - Gregory Feeley's The Oxygen Barons', p. 162

[edit] D

Cryosatellite - "The Neutral Zone," Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode 25, Season 1, 5-16-1988
Deep Space Station K-7 - "The Trouble with Tribbles," Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode 42, Season 2, 12-29-67
Deep Space 9 - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a.k.a. Tirok Nor (when it was Cardassian)

[edit] E

Earthorbital Habitat Kosmograd - Gregory Feeley's The Oxygen Barons', p. 162
Empok Nor - "Empok Nor," Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Episode 24, Season 5, 5-19-1997 (abandoned Cardassian space station)
Esperance Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station

[edit] F

Fargone Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station
Florida Arklab International Space Station - Arche Noah Prinzip 1984 Film

[edit] G

Game Station (a.k.a. Satellite 5) - "The Long Game," episode of Doctor Who, May 5, 2005. The Long Game
Goddard (Lunar orbiting retirement residence turned into interplanetary spacecraft) - Ben Bova's Saturn
God'shole - Iain M. Banks's Excession, Pp. 104-106
Guard Security Holding Facility Axle 7 - Iain Banks's The Algebraist, p. 426

[edit] H

Hab 4409 - Iain M. Banks's The Algebraist, p. 137
Hephaestus - David Weber's On Basilisk Station, Honorverse
Hiawatha - Poul Anderson's Mirkheim, Lagrangian point colony
Highgate - Allen Steele's Coyote Frontier
Hive (L5) - John Barnes' The Duke of Uranium, A Princess of the Aerie, and In the Hall of the Mountain King

[edit] I

Indigo Station - Jack McDevitt's Polaris

[edit] J

JANUS - James P Hogan's The Two Faces of Tomorrow
Jewel-on-the-Giantess (orbits a Gas Giant) - Michael Flynn's The January Dancer

[edit] K

Station Klavier - John Clute's Appleseed

[edit] L

Lagrange 22 (near Mars) - Babylon 5
Lagrangia (L-5) - Mack Reynolds' Lagrange Five, The Lagrangists, Mack Reynolds & Dean Ing's Chaos in Lagrangia, and Dean Ing's Trojan Orbit
Las Venus - "Las Venus," The Jetsons Episode 13, 12-16-1962
Leinster Orbit Station Beta - L.E. Modesitt's The Eternity Artifact
Logarto Orbital-1 - Warren Hammond's KOP
Lorelei (gambling mecca) - Robert Asprin's 1992 Phule's Paradise

[edit] M

Major Tom - Craig DiLouie's The Great Planet Robbery, p. 220
Mariner Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station and Merchanter's Luck
Mars Orbital - Karen Traviss' Matriarch, p. 350, Wess'har Wars universe
McClendon Alpha Station - L.E. Modesitt's The Eternity Artifact
McClendon Beta Station - L.E. Modesitt's The Eternity Artifact
Memory Alpha (also a planetoid) - "The Lights of Zetar," Star Trek The Original Series, Episode 73, Season 3, 1-31-1969
Meriwether Outstation - Jack McDevitt's Polaris, Pp. 325-326
Methuselah - Carl Sagan's Contact: A Novel, p. 283
Mid Range Military Outpost - Babylon Five universe
MIlitary Satellite One, a.k.a. Yankee Doodle - C.M. Kornbluth's Not this August
Minnehaha - Poul Anderson's Mirkheim, Lagrangian point colony
Monte Carlo - Robert A. Heinlein's Methusaleh's Children
Moonorbital Habitat Galena - Gregory Feeley's The Oxygen Barons', p. 162
Music World - "Space Rockers,"Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 2-21-1980

[edit] N

New Tibet Habitat - Ian Stewart & Jack Cohen's Wheelers
New York Up - Mary Rosenblum's Horizons
Newfoundland Four - Charles Stross's Iron Sunrise
Night Angel (Shenji outstation) - Jack McDevitt's Polaris
Nueva Venezuela - Ben Bova's Venus

[edit] O

Oberon - Planet of the Apes 2001 film remake

[edit] P

Palm D'Orbit (restaurant) - "Amazon Women in the Mood," Futurama Volume 3, Episode 1
Pan-Paris Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station
Paradise Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station
Pell Station - C.J. Cherryh's Merchanter's Luck
Phoenix Orbital Academy - Scott Westerfeld's 1993 The Risen Empire (military school)
Phoenix Station - Allen Steele's 1991 Lunar Descent
Phoenix Station - John Scalzi's Old Man's War p. 246
Platform One - "The End of the World," episode of Doctor Who, April 2, 2005 The End of the World
Port Herperus (Venus orbiting space station) - Paul Preuss' Arthur C. Clarke's Venus Prime V: Volume 1: Breaking Strain and Arthur C. Clarke's Venus Prime V: Volume 2: Maelstrom
Port Van Allen (the "Gateway to Earth") - Arthur C. Clarke's 1976 Imperial Earth, Pp. 92-96
Project Adonis - "Specimen: Unknown," The Outer Limits Original Series, 2-24-1964
Prometheus (obsolete space station orbiting Ganymede)- "Prometheus Bound for Destruction," television episode #40 of Space Patrol, September 29, 1951 & October 6, 1951
Proserpine II (orbiting PLuto) - James Blish's Cities in Flight universe

[edit] R

Reunion Station - C.J. Cherryh's Explorer
The Rogue - William E. Burroughs's The Survival Imperative (not science fiction per se but a believable science fiction-like scenario of cosmic bardment of the Earth)
Rotor (8 km. across, orbiting Erythro) - Isaac Asimov's Nemesis
Russell Station or Russell;s Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station and Merchanter's Luck

[edit] S

Sanctuary Orbital - Nancy Kress's Beggar's Ride
Satellite 5 (a.k.a. Game Station) - Doctor Who
Satellite of Love a.k.a. SOL - Mystery Science Theatre 3000 a.k.a. MST3K
Sector Twelve General Hospital - James White's Hospital Station
Sigma 14-B - Philip K. Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Skyfac - Joe Haldeman's "More Than the Sum of His Parts," a short story in Ceceila Tan, ed., Sex in the System, p. 255.
Skyhook Station - Wil McCarthy's Lost in Transmission
Sol Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station
Space Patrol Way Station - "Way Station to the Stars," Episode 30 of Space Patrol, July 21, 1951
Space Station #1 - Frank B. Long's Space Station #1
Space Station Gamma 3 - The Green Slime 1968
Space Station K-7 - Majlis Larson's Pawns and Symbols (Star Trek novel) (see also "The Trouble With Tribbles")
Space Station One - Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey
Space Station One - Judith Merril's "Survival Shop," a short story in Robert A. Heinlein's collection Tomorrow the Stars
Space Station SS-1 - "Controlled Experiments," a short story in Kevin J. Anderson's Landscapes
Space Station Tango Sierra - "The Child," Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode 1, Season 2, 11-21-1988
Starbase 2 - "Turnabout Intruder," Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode 79, Season 3, 6-3-1969
Starbase 4 "Let That be Your Last Battlefield," Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode 70, Season 3, 1-10-1969
Starbase 6 - "Mirror, Mirror," Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode 39, Season 2, 10-6-1967
Starbase 11 - "Court Martial," Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode 15, Season 1, 2-2-1967; "Menagerie (Part One)," Star Trek: The Original Series Episode 16, Season 1, 11-17-1966; Starbase 11 Image
Starbase 12 (Gamma 400 star system) - "Space Seed," Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode 24, Season 1, 2-16-1967
Starbase 22 Christopher L. Bennett's Ex Machina, a Star Trek: The Original Series novel
Starbase 27 - "This Side of Paradise," Star Trek: The Original Series, Episode 25, Season 1, 3-2-1967
Starbase 74 - "11001001," Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode 14, Season 1, 2-1-1988
Starbase 153 - "The Emissary," Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode 20, Season 2, 6-29-1989
Starbase 200 - "The Alternative Factor," Star Trek The Original Series, Episode 20, Season 1, 3-23-1967
Starbase 375 - "Behind the Lines," Episode 4, Season 6 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, 10-20-1997
Starbase Montgomery - "The Icarus Factor," Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode 14, Season 2, 4-24-1989
Station Solaris - Jason X 2001 film
Starbridge Coyote - Allen Steele's Coyote Frontier
Sudden Orbital - Iain M. Banks's Excession

[edit] T

Taisheki Station - Susan R. Matthews's Warring States
Tasman (interstellar trade entrepot) - Margaret Ball's Disapearing Act
Teriocre (Orbital Hub) - Iain M. Banks's Excession, p. 264
Tether Station - Steven Harper's LCSI: Dead Man on the Moon
Research Station Thomas Gold - Ben Bova's Saturn and Mercury
Tier (habitat) - Iain M. Banks/s Excession, p. 94
Tombaugh Station (orbiting Pluto) - Robert A. Heinlein & Spider Robinson's Variable Star, Pp. 102-103
Tsikipipre (Orbital Hub) - Iain M. Banks's Excession

[edit] U

UN Space Station 1 - Laurence M. Janifer & S.J. Treibich's The Wagered World, The High Hex
UN Space Station 2 - Laurence M. Janifer & S.J. Treibich's The Wagered World, The High Hex
Ultimatum - Craig DiLouie's The Great Planet Robbery

[edit] V

Vavatch Orbital - Iain M. Banks' Consider Phlebas
Venus Equilateral Relay Station - George O. Smith's Venus Equilateral series
Viking Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station and Merchanter's Luck
Vulcan Station - Allen Steele's 1989 Orbital Decay

[edit] W

Watchtower - Peter F. Hamilton's Pandora's Star, Pp. 495-496
The Wheel - "The Wheel in Space," Doctor Who Season 5, Story Number 43, (6 episodes) 4-27-1969 to 5-1-1968. details
Winnie-ther-Poor Acres - Philip K. Dick's The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch
Woestra Orbital Hub - Iain M. Banks's Excession
World Channel One - George Zebrowski's Macrolife: A Mobile Utopia, brief reference
Wyatt's Station - C.J. Cherryh's Downbelow Station

[edit] Z

Zulean Space Station ZIR' - "Dueling Space Stations/Don't Look Now (#203)," episode of Zula Patrol

[edit] Unnamed Space Stations

Unnamed Space Station in "Bodies of Evidence," The Outer Limits Episode 316, Season 3, 6-20-1997
Space station orbiting Jupiter - Fear Itself Doctor Who novel

[edit] Marginal Cases

Chrysalis (destroyed habitat attached to Ceres) - Ben Bova's Mercury
Chrysalis 2 (habitat attached to Ceres) - Ben Bova's Mercury
Cloud City city located in the habitable atmospheric zone of Bespin - Star Wars Universe
James Blish's various Cities in Flight (are they spaceships or space stations?)
The "Rocks" in George Zebrowski's Brute Orbits details
The self-reproducing space habitats in George Zebrowski's Macrolife

[edit] Orbital Cities

[edit] Background

[edit] Links

[edit] External Links

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