BEAM module Q&A

[rocx]

What is the procedure if any kind of puncture of any type occurs?

I suppose the same one as for any ISS module: evacuate the leaky part (women and children first) and seal it off.

[whitelancer64]

Is there any danger of a Bigelow module being punctured from the inside? Is it sufficiently armored against internal protrusions?

What is the procedure if any kind of puncture of any type occurs?

The walls are layered, interior and exterior with multiple protective layers of Vectran (which is a bit stronger than Kevlar and more resistant to UV radiation, it's also used in NASA's spacesuits) over the pressure layer, along with exterior and interior insulation, thermal control layers on the outside, etc.

It would take a lot of force to puncture it, I think even if one of the astronauts went crazy and took a gun into the BEAM and shot at the walls, that there would be no danger. To the structure of the ISS anyway.

[Becker67]

Any news on the timeline/date for the expansion of the module?

[AnalogMan]

Any news on the timeline/date for the expansion of the module?

From the NASA TV schedule (upcoming events section):

5:30 a.m. ET, Thursday, May 26 - Coverage of the Expansion of the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) at the ISS (Expansion scheduled to begin at 6:10 a.m. ET; could begin up to 25 minutes earlier based on operational readiness) (all channels)

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Breaking.html

See also this media press release:

http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-televises-hosts-events-for-deployment-of-first-expandable-habitat-on-0

[whitelancer64]

Hey,

Does anyone out there know what the internal dimensions of the BEAM are?

[whitelancer64]

I have been unable to find any direct sources on the interior dimensions of BEAM, so I'm going to math it out.

BEAM has a pressurized volume of 565 cubic feet (16 cubic meters), per NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/beam-facts-figures-faqs

The walls of Bigelow BA330 modules are about 18 inches (0.45 m) thick, per PopSci (and a few other places)
http://www.popsci.com/can-billionaire-robert-bigelow-create-a-life-for-humans-in-space

Since BEAM is the prototype for the production Bigelow modules, I'm assuming that the walls are the same thickness. So two walls would be 36 inches or .91 meters. Let's assume the berthing port and bulkhead at the end of the module are half that. With expanded external dimensions of 4 m length x 3.23 m diameter, subtracting the walls give the module internal dimensions of approx. 3.55 length x 2.32 m diameter. Input those numbers for the volume of a cylinder gives us about 15 cubic meters, on the order of what the actual volume is. I presume the wall thicknesses on the berthing port and the bulkhead on the end of the module are actually thinner than assumed, which probably makes up the majority of the discrepancy, and the curve of the walls the rest.

[AnalogMan]

I have been unable to find any direct sources on the interior dimensions of BEAM, so I'm going to math it out.

BEAM has a pressurized volume of 565 cubic feet (16 cubic meters), per NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/beam-facts-figures-faqs

The walls of Bigelow BA330 modules are about 18 inches (0.45 m) thick, per PopSci (and a few other places)
http://www.popsci.com/can-billionaire-robert-bigelow-create-a-life-for-humans-in-space

Since BEAM is the prototype for the production Bigelow modules, I'm assuming that the walls are the same thickness. So two walls would be 36 inches or .91 meters. Let's assume the berthing port and bulkhead at the end of the module are half that. With expanded external dimensions of 4 m length x 3.23 m diameter, subtracting the walls give the module internal dimensions of approx. 3.55 length x 2.32 m diameter. Input those numbers for the volume of a cylinder gives us about 15 cubic meters, on the order of what the actual volume is. I presume the wall thicknesses on the berthing port and the bulkhead on the end of the module are actually thinner than assumed, which probably makes up the majority of the discrepancy, and the curve of the walls the rest.

This article gives an internal diameter of 127 inches (3.226 m) and a final length of 158 inches (4.013 m) after full expansion (it does not explicitly state that the length is internal but seems likely).

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/05/28/beam-expanded-to-full-size/

Similarly:

http://www.americaspace.com/?p=93584

[whitelancer64]

I have been unable to find any direct sources on the interior dimensions of BEAM, so I'm going to math it out.

BEAM has a pressurized volume of 565 cubic feet (16 cubic meters), per NASA
https://www.nasa.gov/feature/beam-facts-figures-faqs

The walls of Bigelow BA330 modules are about 18 inches (0.45 m) thick, per PopSci (and a few other places)
http://www.popsci.com/can-billionaire-robert-bigelow-create-a-life-for-humans-in-space

Since BEAM is the prototype for the production Bigelow modules, I'm assuming that the walls are the same thickness. So two walls would be 36 inches or .91 meters. Let's assume the berthing port and bulkhead at the end of the module are half that. With expanded external dimensions of 4 m length x 3.23 m diameter, subtracting the walls give the module internal dimensions of approx. 3.55 length x 2.32 m diameter. Input those numbers for the volume of a cylinder gives us about 15 cubic meters, on the order of what the actual volume is. I presume the wall thicknesses on the berthing port and the bulkhead on the end of the module are actually thinner than assumed, which probably makes up the majority of the discrepancy, and the curve of the walls the rest.

This article gives an internal diameter of 127 inches (3.226 m) and a final length of 158 inches (4.013 m) after full expansion (it does not explicitly state that the length is internal but seems likely).

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2016/05/28/beam-expanded-to-full-size/

Similarly:

http://www.americaspace.com/?p=93584

"Internal" has to be an error, it should say "external." Bigelow has the external diameter as 3.23 meters.