Octavia

Venusian Aerostat

Octavia is the most successful aerostat habitat to  date and the political center of the Morningstar  Constellation. It maintains an altitude of roughly 55  kilometers above the northern highlands of Ishtar  Terra. Octavia resembles an immense, mushroomshaped  skyscraper, 450 meters tall, ringed at its center  by four radial outrigger spars, each ending in a stabilizing  gas envelope filled with helium. The cap of the  mushroom is a hard, translucent dome that provides  an open, park like space while also serving as the main  gas envelope (oxygen, which is much lighter than the  CO2 making up most of Venus’s atmosphere, is the  main source of buoyancy). The habitat is fluted from  top to bottom, going from a diameter of almost 300  meters at the base of the dome, to 15 meters wide at  the very bottom. A huge counterweight tethered to the  bottom of the structure prevents the habitat from capsizing  during storms. Atmospheric craft and shuttles  from orbit may land at flight decks near the base of  the outriggers. 500,000 people live aboard Octavia. ( EP pg. 90)