Swarm [2]

Large array of habitats or space infrastructure units orbiting a star or planet

Alfirk
Image from Steve Bowers
Alfirk A Dyson swarm
A large and often apparently random aggregation of orbital, asteroidal, or lagrange habitats, manufacturing plants, aioid structures, etc. Dyson swarms of solar power collectors are often found near stars, sometimes including large numbers of habitats as well.

Informal habitat swarms are common in many of the high population solar systems, and can easily include populations of several billions. Often, but not always, living conditions are substandard. The orbital equivalent of a "Sprawl".
 
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Development Notes
Text by M. Alan Kazlev

Initially published on 31 December 2007.