All articles tagged with #inflatable habitat
Max Space is developing Thunderbird Station, an inflatable space habitat that can expand to over 12,000 cubic feet with a single launch, aiming for deployment by 2029, offering a potentially more spacious and reconfigurable alternative to traditional space stations, and possibly serving lunar and Mars missions in the future.
Sierra Space successfully conducted a "ultimate burst pressure" test on its inflatable space habitat, exceeding NASA's safety level by 27%. The test focused on the pressure shell made of expandable "softgoods," including Vectran straps, which are stronger than steel when inflated on-orbit. Sierra plans to deploy these modules as part of Orbital Reef, a private space station project with Blue Origin, and is conducting aggressive testing on other layers of the habitat this year.
Sierra Space successfully conducted a "ultimate burst pressure" test on its inflatable space habitat, exceeding NASA's safety level by 27%. The test focused on the pressure shell made of expandable "softgoods" and demonstrated the module's potential for providing habitable space in low Earth orbit. Sierra plans to deploy these modules as part of the Orbital Reef project, a private space station being developed with Blue Origin, and is conducting aggressive testing on other layers of the habitat this year.
Redwire and Sierra Space have formed a partnership to develop a biotech technology testbed on Sierra's first mission with its inflatable space habitat. The goal is to manufacture drugs in space, taking advantage of the microgravity environment to create unique materials that can be used to develop more effective and longer-lasting drugs on Earth. Redwire will include its ADvanced Space Experiment Processors (ADSEP) on Sierra's LIFE habitat mission, expected in 2026. This collaboration is part of the companies' efforts to establish the business case for future space stations like Orbital Reef, which aims to succeed the International Space Station.
Sierra Space has completed its fourth and final deliberate explosion of a prototype module for its Large Integrated Flexible Environment (LIFE) inflatable habitat, which is being developed as a successor to the International Space Station. The testing shows the forthcoming full-scale module can likely stand up to pressurizing for more than 60 years, which is four times the expected 15-year lifespan of the Orbital Reef space station led by Blue Origin, Sierra Space representatives said. NASA has committed to helping operate the ISS until 2030, but how many partners will continue past the current agreement's end of 2024 is an open question.