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Bigelow Aerospace has created a spinoff company that will manage its orbital space stations, and has announced plans for an inflatable module that would be even larger than the B330:
Bigelow Aerospace — the Las Vegas-based company manufacturing space habitats — is starting a spinoff venture aimed at managing any modules that the company deploys into space. Called Bigelow Space Operations (BSO), the new company will be responsible for selling Bigelow's habitats to customers, such as NASA, foreign countries, and other private companies. But first, BSO will try to figure out what kind of business exists exactly in lower Earth orbit, the area of space where the ISS currently resides.
Bigelow makes habitats designed to expand. The densely packed modules launch on a rocket and then inflate once in space, providing more overall volume for astronauts to roam around. The company already has one of its prototype habitats in orbit right now: the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module, or BEAM, which has been attached to the International Space Station since 2016. The BEAM has proven that Bigelow's expandable habitat technology not only works, but also holds up well against the space environment.
Now, Bigelow is focusing on its next space station design: the B330. The habitat is so named since it will have 330 cubic meters (or nearly 12,000 cubic feet) of interior volume when expanded in space. That's about one-third the volume provided by the ISS. Bigelow hopes to launch two B330s as early as 2021, on top of the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rockets, and the company even has plans to put a B330 around the Moon. After that, Bigelow has bigger plans to create a single station with 2.4 times the entire pressurized volume of the ISS, the company announced today. Such a huge station will need to be constructed in an entirely new manufacturing facility that Bigelow plans to build — though the company hasn't decided on a location yet.
Bigelow's BEAM is currently attached to the ISS and has a volume of about 16 cubic meters, which has been described as that of "a large closet with padded white walls". The B330 will have 330 cubic meters of pressurized volume. The newly proposed module is called the BA 2100, or "Olympus", with 2,250 cubic meters of volume, compared to the ISS's total 931 cubic meters. The mass of the BA 2100 could range from 65 to 100 metric tons, likely requiring a super-heavy launcher such as the SLS Block 1B/2 or SpaceX's BFR.
Also at Space News, Motherboard, and Space.com.
Related: How to Get Back to the Moon in 4 Years, Permanently
Bigelow Expandable Activity Module to Continue Stay at the International Space Station
Bigelow and ULA to Put Inflatable Module in Orbit Around the Moon by 2022
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 21 2018, @03:45PM (2 children)
holy shit i bought a ticket for a whole seat but i only need the edgggggge
(Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday February 21 2018, @03:57PM
Go back to 4chan. Or Mars.
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(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday February 21 2018, @09:58PM
Do not use Edge. Use FireFox or Chrome.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 21 2018, @04:05PM (18 children)
Well, for storage, ok, but for humans to hang out? No way! Make the thing transparent, and then we'll talk. The damn thing has got to have some windows at least. What's the point of going all the way up there if you can't enjoy the view? It's the best advertisement you could hope for. And no, video cameras and big screens won't cut it.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday February 21 2018, @04:13PM (13 children)
The ISS has this module [wikipedia.org], which has been "compared to the cockpit window of the Millennium Falcon."
BEAM, B330, etc. are modular and will be attached to other modules. Getting a huge amount of space station volume with a low mass and number of launches is very valuable. Maybe you don't need a window in the part you're going to be sleeping in if that's just going to douse you with more radiation.
You could have the equivalent of the Ender's Game Battle Room using a BA 2100. Compared to the relatively cramped corridors of the ISS.
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(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday February 21 2018, @04:37PM (2 children)
People are going to PAY to get up there, then we're going to cheat them of their fair share of radiation? So, what are we going to do, if they insist on their ration of radiation? Just charge them extra?
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Funny) by takyon on Wednesday February 21 2018, @04:58PM
We can put them in the room next to the fission reactor core.
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(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday February 21 2018, @04:58PM
That's what the orbital resorts are for - you don't want rubbernecking tourists clogging up a serious space station anyway, people are trying to get work done.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday February 21 2018, @05:39PM (8 children)
> Compared to the relatively cramped corridors of the ISS.
In zero-G, cramped corridors are a very useful feature.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday February 21 2018, @06:06PM (7 children)
You just need the NASA equivalent of the Ruyi Jingu Bang [wikipedia.org] or the Grab It [freakinreviews.com] in order to pull or push people who are stuck floating in the center of the module.
Hazing on the Bigelow Space Station: push/pull someone into the middle of the module until they are barely moving in any direction. Then see what they have to do to get to one of the walls.
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(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 21 2018, @07:10PM (6 children)
peeing would work. although I guess throwing up would be more spectacular; and probably much more likely, not that I think about it.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday February 21 2018, @07:58PM (5 children)
Always keep white pepper in your pocket for emergencies.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday February 21 2018, @10:23PM (4 children)
Great, a cloud of pepper and snot suspended around the room in microgravity.
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(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday February 21 2018, @10:47PM (3 children)
While that's unquestionably better than what the parent was proposing, I have to agree it's pretty bad.
Astronauts in the ISS are surrounded by a cloud of their own skin flakes, hairs, and other excretions. There's a reason it smells nasty, and has fans constantly circulating air around and through filters.
There's pretty good money to be made by the inventor of Space Roomba.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday February 21 2018, @11:14PM (2 children)
A modified drone can work great in an environment where it doesn't need to overcome 1G.
The "Int-Ball" uses 12 tiny fans arranged in a sphere to control movement:
https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2018/2/20/17031836/jeff-bezos-clock-10000-year-cost [theverge.com]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtIARUS7Lqc [youtube.com]
For the space roomba you just need it to locate dust, particles, or some other mess, face towards it, gently move towards it using rear fans, and then quickly suck it up when it gets close enough. Include multiple cameras so that it can see from any angle, or fewer cameras and have it slowly turn to locate new sources of dust.
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(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday February 22 2018, @12:20AM (1 child)
Too complex.
You just need a battery-powered fan blowing on a filter, with some mechanism pseudo-randomly changing direction on impact.
Using the fan flow for both dust suction and toy propulsion, the hardest part is to perfectly balance the weight
Probably three or four coplanar fans, and an accelerometer, are better, allowing you to keep going straight if the filter is clogging, or the fans aging, in an unbalanced way.
Patent pending.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday February 22 2018, @12:39AM
Linked the wrong article earlier.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/17/15981250/japan-space-camera-drone-iss-int-ball [theverge.com]
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(Score: 2) by el_oscuro on Thursday February 22 2018, @03:18AM
In Kerbal Space program, I have a contract to deploy a space station to Ike orbit with that exact module. I always wondered where it came from.
SoylentNews is Bacon! [nueskes.com]
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Wednesday February 21 2018, @04:56PM (2 children)
> What's the point of going all the way up there if you can't enjoy the view?
Hmm, let's see...
The many advantages of free-fall.
Lag-reducing proximity to telepresence robotics working outside
The relative ease of traveling to other non-terrestrial locations
>And no, video cameras and big screens won't cut it.
Why ever not? Unlike earthly scenes, where binocular vision and other parallax effects are observable, everything in space, except the space-station itself, will be much too far away to for there to be any observable difference between different viewpoints. The only difference between a window and high-resolution screen behind a lens that puts its focal plane at infinity, will be the fact that the field of view on a TV screen doesn't change with your motion (i.e. there are no parallax effects with the "window frame") Though actually, there are a number of existing technologies that enable that as well. It's really easy for only one observer, you just have to track where their head is and update the display accordingly. Multiple observers require a screen capable of displaying different images to each observer, which is currently considerably more expensive. Or pseudo-holographic displays, which are mostly still in the early prototype stages.
That's not to say an occasional observation dome wouldn't be a worthy addition, for psychological effects if nothing else, but you don't want that dramatically higher radiation dose, nor the much greater risk of vacuum breach, anyplace where you spend significant amounts of time. Basically, everything outside the space station is trying to kill you, and it's doing so with the implacable patience of the infinite void. Unless you're currently in the mood to contemplate that void, you want as much distance between you and it as possible.
Besides which, very few people are going to go to space for the view. Aside from the Earth, you can very nearly the same view by lying out in a field on a dark night far less expensively, and with a lot more luxuries. If you want a view, go to a space resort - they'll probably all have observation bubbles attached to the far hatch of your inflatable room, along with a sign warning you of the dangers of spending too much time in the bubble, or leaving the door to it open. At least assuming you sprang for the deluxe suite, otherwise you'll just have to float on down to the cafe or one of the other public observation domes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 21 2018, @08:21PM (1 child)
Unlike earthly scenes, where binocular vision and other parallax effects are observable, everything in space, except the space-station itself, will be much too far away to for there to be any observable difference between different viewpoints.
Oh? You've been? Or did you at least ask someone who has? Personally I think you don't know what you're talking about.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday February 22 2018, @04:11AM
As I recall, the physics of the human eye limits perceptual distinction to things within several dozen miles - this side of the horizon. Earth is too far away for stereo vision to make a difference, and there's unlikely to be anything else big enough to see anywhere near that close to you.
Sure, you could break out the binoculars, but that's what a genuine observation dome is for. Windows are there for looking out of when you want to look somewhere else.
And consider - while actual screens have a great many limitations, augmented reality is fast approaching the point where you can easily paint a fully stereoscopic image "through" any wall or imaginary divider you like. No reason you couldn't strategically deploy cameras around the outside of the station, and virtually paint the walls transparent. Still not quite the same, but it'd be suicide to work in an office that really had that kind of view. And you can always float over to the the observation dome when you want to see it "for real". You can even wave to your friends back in the office, even if you can't see if they wave back.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Wednesday February 21 2018, @10:02PM
Modules without windows are actually best for humans. Either for hanging out. Or copulating. Fewer non-inflatable modules can have windows. People visit them for a great view when they are not otherwise occupied.
Why is it that when I hold a stick, everyone begins to look like a pinata?
(Score: 2) by Tara Li on Wednesday February 21 2018, @04:58PM (3 children)
The BA-2100 has been proposed for a long time now - at least a couple of years, I think. The spin-off is the big news. I wish Bigelow had been working with SpaceX all along, though - I expect they will be soon enough. If the BA-2100 comes in at the low end of the estimated mass, it could possibly be launched by a Falcon Heavy, though I think there might be volume constraints within the fairing - I seem to remember something along those lines being mentioned.
Pressurized volume of the ISS is currently 931 m^2 - so three B330s up would double the available on-orbit shirt-sleeve space. A single BA-2100 would triple it by itself.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Immerman on Wednesday February 21 2018, @05:13PM
Longer than that I think. I want to say it was proposed right along with the 330, long before construction of the BEAM or its free-floating predecessor began.
Could be the actual announcement is more in line with "we're now starting serious work on the design details", or even "are tooling up to start producing the things", rather than just a pie-in-the-sky long-term goal. Rather like SpaceX and the recent BFR announcement - the project has moved from "future goals" to "active business consideration". Would make sense too - now that there's actually a rocket that could (maybe) lift the thing, and SpaceX announcing another that could easily lift it within 5-10 years, they probably want to have something ready to ship as soon as possible. After all, their most profitable business window is potentially quite narrow, existing primarily between the point where we can launch such large things into space affordably, and when we can start building much more substantial structures from raw materials mined in space. That might only last a few decades, after which inflatable modules will likely become the the commodity "quick and flimsy" solution suitable primarily as spacecraft modules and initial planetary outposts, where more massive solutions present serious difficulties.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday February 21 2018, @05:26PM (1 child)
I probably fucked up the part about BA-2100 since I hadn't heard of it or didn't remember it.
Given the timeline, with the first B330s launched around 2021, I would expect BA-2100 to fly on a BFR rather than Falcon Heavy. BFR is planned for launches as soon as 2022-2024 and would replace both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy due to its full reusability. It would be able to put a BA-2100 in LEO in reusable mode. So if a BA-2100 is going up a few years after 2021, BFR should be ready by then, even if delayed a bit.
Much has been made of Falcon Heavy's ~5 years of delay, but a big factor was that Falcon Heavy consists of Falcon 9s strapped together. Falcon 9 evolved significantly since the Falcon Heavy was originally announced, gaining the ability to lift heavier payloads originally intended for Falcon Heavy and adding reusability features. I doubt the BFR launch timeframe is going to shift by 5 years.
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(Score: 2) by bob_super on Wednesday February 21 2018, @08:08PM
> I doubt the BFR launch timeframe is going to shift by 5 years.
Per Musk track record, a two-years delay is the bare minimum.
Besides that, the primary question is how many test flights will end up with Big Fireworks Report, causing people with precious cargo to wait until reliability improves. Getting that big of a rocket right the first time would be quite a feat (and a giant FU to SLS).