The concept of a spinning, ring-shaped spacecraft that generates Earth-like gravity predates 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and even the first satellite launches of the 1950s, and originates in the 1903 writings of the pioneering Russian and Soviet rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. But, more than a century later, no such centrifugal craft has yet been built, despite the theoretical promise of such a project. In One Revolution Per Minute, the Stockholm-based director Erik Wernquist, who is known for his speculative yet deeply science-informed CGI shorts, envisions what such a craft might look like, as well as who it might cater to. Paying careful attention to details, from the practicalities of the physics to the movement of shadows, Wernquist invites viewers aboard the ‘SSPO Esperanta’, a speculative craft that offers guests a luxurious sightseeing tour of the solar system.
Is this the future of space travel? Take a luxury ‘cruise’ across the solar system
Director: Erik Wernquist
Music: Cristian Sandquist
22 November 2023

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