A few earlier films are not easily accessible to stream for research, so here we go with the big one, Space Station Five as seen in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 behemoth of cinema, 2001: A Space Odyssey. Though not the first movie to feature a wheel-based design for a station, it pretty much goes without saying that nothing before had put space onscreen like 2001.
The film’s standout interiors are probably those seen later, on board the spacecraft Discovery One, with its rotating centrifuge set. But Space Station Five delivers the stylish flair that one hopes for in a vision of the future from the late 1960s. It’s a bit hard to make out, but here one can see the front desk for an on-board Hilton space hotel, as well as the gentle curve of the outer ring, which has normal gravity thanks to the centrifugal force produced by the station’s rotation:
A few more images — (1) the very spacious elevator from the center section (shuttle docking bay) to the outer ring; (2) the room immediately adjacent the elevator; and (3) a foyer area with a “Picturephone” booth and “Howard Johnson’s Earthlight Room”, presumably a restaurant/lounge:
HAL a good Tuesday night or Wednesday morning 🤖
