This week, NASA announced that crews aboard the International Space Station will soon test an inflatable space module in orbit. The balloon-like module prototype will be manufactured by Las Vegas-based Bigelow Aerospace and its scheduled for a 2015 launch aboard a SpaceX cargo run to the station.
The technology certainly has exciting implications imagine being able to launch a full habitat to the moon on a single rocket! but its not a novel idea. The Bigelow Aerospace design has its roots in the inflatable NASA concept TransHab developed (and ultimately canceled) for living on the space station, but designs for inflatable space habitats go even further back than that. NASAs Langley research center originally considered an inflatable space station as a jumping off point for lunar missions in 1959.
In the late 1950s, most proponents of space exploration was an Earth orbiting station as a necessary step on the way to deep space missions. Engineers at the Langley research center were no exception, formally entering the space station game in the spring of 1959. On April 1, NASA created a Research Steering Committee for Manned Space Flight led by Harry Goett. The Goett Committee as it became known included representatives from all NASA centers who met to discuss the agencys future on May 25. Representatives from Langley wasted no time, jumping into a presentation on the merits of a space station.
Called the Advanced Man in Space AMIS program, Langleys vision proposed a station with a type of shuttle vehicle that could take astronauts to distant points in the solar system. The station itself would help NASA study the psychological and physiological effects of extended spaceflight on astronauts and at the same time train crews for future demanding missions. It would also be a test bed for the new technology the space agency would no doubt have to develop to explore the Cosmos.
After a series of concept studies, Langley engineers settled on a self-deploying inflatable design for its space station. Noninflatable configurations had been systematically passed over: a cylindrical module attached to a boosters upper stage was dynamically unstable; a modular concept would need too many launches; and hub-and-spoke designs, basically big orbiting Ferris wheels, were expected to have disorientating and nauseating effects on a crew.
Langleys winning design was an inflatable torus astronauts would basically live inside a giant orbiting doughnut designed with the Goodyear Aircraft Corporation. Properly called the Erectable Torus Manned Space Laboratory, Langleys ideal torus was a flat design 24 feet in diameter that could be packed snugly inside a rocket for protected on its ride through the atmosphere to orbit. Once inflated, the inner habitable volume could provide astronauts with varying strengths of artificial gravity anywhere between O and 1 G, and ports on the outside of the torus could accept incoming and launch outgoing shuttles.
But there was one major problem with the inflatable aspect it was extremely vulnerable. Meteorites and micrometeorites posed the greatest and most immediate danger, but it wasnt the only worry. Some engineers worried that astronauts moving vigorously inside the torus could somehow rip through the structure and shoot themselves out into space. Goodyear built a research model out of a lightweight three-ply nylon cord held together by butyl elastome, a sticky, rubber-like material. This strengthened the torus, but it wasnt enough. It would still be vulnerable during a meteoroid shower.
Stability issues cropped up, too, again from the crews expected vigorous movements. Some engineers thought it was possible for astronauts to move around with enough force that the torus would start wobbling. A wobble, even a slight one, could make the station an unstable (and nauseating) place to be.
To address these strength and stability problems head on, Langley built a 10-foot-diameter elastically scaled model of the torus. The model was finished and ready for testing in the summer of 1961. But by then the torus was out of fashion, passed over in favor of a more rigid hexagonal design, also lightweight and foldable, and also from Langley.
But the bigger problem facing the space stations was NASAs new commitment to the moon. Benefits of spending the time in orbit to prepare men for the two-week trip from to the moon couldnt outweigh the need to get there first. Space stations, both inflatable models and their more rigid offshoots, were shelved.
Read the original here:
NASA's Original Inflatable Space Station
- 2D Laser Profiling Scanner for Detecting Targets [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Energy Concept Could Harness the Power of Ocean Waves [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Data Acquisition Modules [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dr. Scott Barthelmy, Research Scientist, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Laser Tracker Ensures Accurate Alignment of Ares I Components [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dual Cryogenic Capacitive Density Sensor [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Advanced Technologies Will Help Hubble Yield More Remarkable Discoveries [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dr. Gerard Holzmann, Senior Research Scientist at the Laboratory for Reliable Software, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Research Will Help Aircraft Avoid Ocean Storms and Turbulence [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- NASA Awards 2008 Software of the Year [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Here Come The Tricorders - Update [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- China's View on Space [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Milsat Coordination and Tracking Issues [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Trash Talking and End Runs at NASA HQ [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Ares 1-Y is Toast [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Beyond Augustine [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Analyzing LCROSS' Plume [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Live Event: NASA-Sponsored Power Beaming Challenge [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- JSC Wants To Build a Replicator [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- USA: Looking For Ways To Hang On [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Lunar Lander Challenge Prizes Awarded [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Senate Votes To Restore NASA Budget Cuts [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- New FAA Regs for Commercial Reentry [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- TEDxNASA: An Invitation-Only NASA Meeting - Unless You Are Lucky [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Close Call For Courtney Stadd [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Space: A Waste? [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Making NASA Cool [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Engaging JSC’s Next Gen: A Leadership Analysis [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Dumpster Diving for Rockets [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- TEDx NASA [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Reflections On a Business Trip in Huntsville [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Staying the Course [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- The Economics of Space [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Ideas at Work [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Blah Blah Blah - Why We Should Care About Social Media [Last Updated On: November 8th, 2009] [Originally Added On: November 8th, 2009]
- Will White House Speak Soon About NASA? [Last Updated On: December 12th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 12th, 2009]
- Software Aids Design of Ares V Composite Shroud Structure [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- ASDX Series of silicon pressure sensors [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Industry Update: Analysis & Simulation Software [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Battery Will Provide Backup Power for Space Shuttles [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- NASA Employee Claims To Have Witnessed Hijacking Planning [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Big Party in The Mojave Tonight [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Looking at Boulders on the Moon [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- SpaceBook Featured by White House [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- New Ways to Use Constellation Stuff [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- LaRC internal Poll Update [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Coalition for Space Exploration Does a (Much Needed) Reboot [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Lunar Orbiter: Comparing Old and New Images [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Boulder Trails On The Moon [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Vote for John Grunsfeld - National Geographic Adventurer of the YeAR [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Charlie Bolden at WIA/AIAA [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Live Webcast From The Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery Project [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Big Aerospace Warns of Job Cut Impact [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- The Boulders of Copernicus [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- shame on us [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- 2009 Space Elevator Games [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Random Hacks of Kindness [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- TEDx NASA Tickets Available to the Public [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- It’s better in person [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Leading Amidst the Disruptive Innovation Storm [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Space: What’s NOT to Hope for? [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Government in the Digital Age [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- SpaceUp – A Space Unconference [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Starfleet Academy? [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Crowdsourcing NASA [Last Updated On: December 13th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 13th, 2009]
- Bringing Home The Bacon [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Anti-Space Mom with Pro-Space Kids [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- How Quickly We Forget [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- WISE Launch A Success [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2009]
- Dynetics Buys Orion Propulsion [Last Updated On: December 15th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 15th, 2009]
- New NASA Governance Structure Under Development [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Bolden Meets With Obama on Wednesday [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- MSFC Procurement Doesn't Understand what "Open Source" Means [Last Updated On: December 16th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 16th, 2009]
- Bolden Meets With Obama [Last Updated On: December 17th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 17th, 2009]
- Parker Griffith AT MSFC Today [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Why Your NASA Computer May Not Work Properly [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Lakes and Fog on Titan [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Waterworld Found [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Pandora Could Exist [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]
- Laurie Leshin Is The New ESMD Deputy AA [Last Updated On: December 18th, 2009] [Originally Added On: December 18th, 2009]