Bootstrap
Deploy self-replicating solar-powered factories near Mercury. Starting from 1 km² of collectors, doubling annually to reach 0.1% solar capture in 48 years. The hardest and most important phase.
Jupiter mining
Atmospheric scooping of methane-rich gas. Pyrolysis into carbon feedstock and hydrogen fuel. Jupiter has 1,000× the carbon we need — we extract 0.1% of its atmosphere.
Manufacturing & transport
Carbon composite structural panels manufactured at orbital factories. Continuous cargo pipeline between Jupiter and the assembly point at Earth's L4/L5 Lagrange point.
Shell assembly
Billions of robotic assemblers construct the shell from the inside out. Hemispheres built with an equatorial gap for material flow, sealed last. 6.1 × 10¹⁸ m² of surface area.
Pod cladding & illumination
Real pea pods grown in orbital farms and affixed to the exterior in a dense mosaic. Internal fusion core activated. The green sun lights up.