Sierra Space’s Large Inflatable Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) module, intended to house astronauts one day orbiting Earth, continues to explode as intended and more than expected.
On Monday, Announcing private startup Results from the latest ultimate burst pressure (UBP) tests are intended to help confirm that the final final design of the LIFE module can withstand the vacuum of space and cope with unwanted encounters with micrometeorites .To commemorate this, Sierra Space mini documentary We describe the latest trials and highlight the complexity and progress of the module. Of course, if you just want to see the giant space station balloon go home with a “cadoon”, fast forward to the 5 minute 55 second mark.
On Monday, Announcing private startup Results from the latest ultimate burst pressure (UBP) tests are intended to help confirm that the final final design of the LIFE module can withstand the vacuum of space and cope with unwanted encounters with micrometeorites . Although similar experiments have been conducted in the past, this was the first UBP test on a full-scale LIFE prototype. Sierra Space inflated the nearly three-story-tall, 27-foot-wide model until it cracked with a force equivalent to 164 sticks of dynamite. Furthermore, the explosion occurred only after succumbing to internal pressure of 77 psi. This is approximately 27 percent higher than the pressure rating specified by NASA for the space station’s living environment.
[Related: Watch a space station habitat prototype pop like a water balloon.]
The key to the LIFE module’s promising construction is its reliance on advanced “soft goods” like Vectran, a resilient synthetic fiber spun from liquid crystal polymers that, once expanded, is stronger than steel. Upon deployment, the module framework must be sufficiently rigid and reliable to keep residents insulated, safe, and comfortable as they live in the space station’s low-Earth orbit environment.
The aced test was completed after two years of research, construction and testing of various smaller versions of the inflatable space station module. For example, last September, the company released a video of a one-third scale prototype popping up during a UBP test.If all goes as planned (though it’s still a big “if” given funding, final plans, and the space industry’s habit of delaying projects), Sierra Space’s LIFE module could someday be part of Blue Origin’s potential. may account for orbital leaf station.
As the aging International Space Station approaches its retirement in 2030 and its subsequent departure from orbit, NASA is hopeful This is to leave as few gaps as possible between resident projects in orbit. This will likely involve significantly increased reliance on private companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Sierra Space, the latter of which will compete to finalize his LIFE module. Sierra space is Redeemable Space Law Contract It partnered with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center late last year to continue testing the LIFE module at its Alabama facility. Meanwhile, NASA continues to work with Blue Origin and Axiom Space on their respective orbital station projects.
While it may seem far-fetched on the surface to imagine a collection of extremely powerful, interconnected balloon tents as a space station, there are clear advantages to pursuing this design. First, it will be much cheaper to build a module and launch it into orbit, considering the ability of the current version to fit on her 5-meter rocket. When inflated, one full-sized LIFE module occupies approximately one-third of the ISS’s volume.
But why stop there? Sierra Space says it intends to “iterate larger designs,” including a 1,400-cubic-meter improved version packed into a 7-meter rocket. This alone would exceed the completed size of the ISS.
