Huntsville’s efforts to establish itself as the spacefaring center of the United States continues to build momentum, as the California-based startup Orbital Assembly Corporation (OAC) has announced its imminent relocation to Rocket City.

OAC CEO Rhonda Stevenson has high hopes for the company’s future in Huntsville. “We look forward to bringing more jobs to the area as we expand development of our space stations which will incorporate habitable facilities for manufacturing, research and tourism — including the world’s first hotel with gravity.”

An artist rendering of OAC’s Gravity Ring project

The key to this ambitious vision is the Gravity Ring. OAC Space Stations, such as their Pioneer model and the colossal Voyager design, will be built around a central, rotating ring. The rotation of this ring will generate inertia, which, in turn, will simulate the effects of gravity in the structures built along the outside edge of the ring, keeping feet firmly on floors.

This simulated gravity will allow for human habitation in space without the debilitating effects of prolonged zero-gravity conditions on the body. The Gravity Ring project will be developed in Huntsville, after OAC negotiated a $3 million incentive package from the state and local governments.

The new OAC headquarters will be located at 4001 Market Street, opening later this year. In a statement given to the Huntsville Business Journal, Stevenson said that, for the Pioneer-class station project and mission control, the company expects to “potentially hire an additional 200 or more skilled staff.”

Stevenson went on to add that “the space culture in Rocket City is the perfect place for us to develop artificial gravity communities for the next phase of human space exploration.”

Huntsville was selected in large part due to the deep reserve of highly-trained technical workers, as well as the presence of numerous aerospace companies in the region.

The Orbital Assembly Corporation is partnered with many firms operating in and around Huntsville, such as Boeing, ULA, Rocketjet Aerodyne, and Sierra Space. Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser reusable space plane merited special mention for its importance to OAC’s future operations.

Stevenson gave the Business-Journal a statement to the residents of Huntsville, on behalf of the OAC:

“We’re excited to be a part of the best space industry ecosystem and most space minded community in the U.S. We greatly appreciate the interest and support we have received from state and local governments. Orbital Assembly will involve Huntsville’s amazing community, excellent educational facilities and universities, industry knowhow, and skilled workforce to become a significant company in the space park arena and the only player bringing artificial gravity to space for manufacturing, research and tourism.”