Or Bigelow could develop expandable modules to fit the existing fairing sizes.
Quote from: sanman on 02/19/2018 04:00 am>Because Bigelow habs seemed to be designed with minimal propulsion meant mainly for station-keeping, they're seen primarily as suitable for space stations. Could they be used as manned deep space vessels, perhaps after some modifications? What kind of modifications would be required?The most recent animations & the below article show a B330 with a refuellable ULA ACES stage as a propulsion bus.http://spacenews.com/bigelow-and-ula-announce-plans-for-lunar-orbiting-facility/
>Because Bigelow habs seemed to be designed with minimal propulsion meant mainly for station-keeping, they're seen primarily as suitable for space stations. Could they be used as manned deep space vessels, perhaps after some modifications? What kind of modifications would be required?
In LEO, all of the cryogenic propellant would be transferred to one of the Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES). The now full ACES would then rendezvous with the B330 and perform multiple maneuvers to deliver the B330 to its final position in Low Lunar Orbit.
With announcement supposedly tomorrow.. I believe it is about http://www.bigelowspaceops.com/i just hope it isn't another "here..come fund this..." but a "we are doing this...hop on board" announcement..but I am skepticaljb
ok..my 2 cents...that was a boring announcement...launch the thing already ..tell the companies it is 1st come 1st serve..show up now or miss out...seems they are looking for that handout again... sighjb
It is not unusual for companies to need customers before launching something. (When Boeing formally launch the 787 they had firm orders for 102 aircraft) And launching a space station is a massive investment.So this is not unusual, and has nothing to do with "looking for a handout". Doing the "build it and they will come" philosophy requires a lot of resources to back up, resources that Bigelow lacks all by themselves.If you believe Bigelow will launch a space station without a signed customer (or customers), you are in fantasy land.
It's too bad that a large interplanetary-class rocket like BFR (or New Armstrong, etc) can't be equipped with some kind of temporary Bigelow-style expanding hab section. Because then shortly after the rocket leaves the atmosphere, the hab section could expand outward to provide much more habitation space during transit to a far location like Mars. Then as it nears that destination, perhaps the hab could be re-compressed again, before the vehicle undergoes EDL. Then after landing, maybe the hab section could be expanded again, to provide a roomier space on Mars.Because Bigelow habs seemed to be designed with minimal propulsion meant mainly for station-keeping, they're seen primarily as suitable for space stations. Could they be used as manned deep space vessels, perhaps after some modifications? What kind of modifications would be required?
(edit)BFS "pressurised volume" is given as 825m^3. Certainly more volume / mass than Falcon Heavy. It should be easy to put something like the BA-2100 into that, but it won't (or shouldn't) look exactly like the BA-2100. In both cases, would you keep the upper stage attached, so it can be used as a booster or perhaps a volatiles store? Or perhaps something similar to the old Space Shuttle ET reuse proposals?
Quote from: spacenut on 02/11/2018 01:37 pmOr Bigelow could develop expandable modules to fit the existing fairing sizes. Exactly.
Quote from: punder on 02/19/2018 06:11 pmQuote from: spacenut on 02/11/2018 01:37 pmOr Bigelow could develop expandable modules to fit the existing fairing sizes. Exactly. New fairings don't just appear out of nowhere. The payload decides how big they'll be. The 2100 could be a starting point for SpaceX, BO or whoever wants to make a huge cargo fairing or whatever delivers the payload. Talk to other potential customers, of course.
Quote from: Nomadd on 02/27/2018 09:19 pm New fairings don't just appear out of nowhere. The payload decides how big they'll be. The 2100 could be a starting point for SpaceX, BO or whoever wants to make a huge cargo fairing or whatever delivers the payload. Talk to other potential customers, of course.The point is, though, that if you are having a hard time finding customers (as Bigelow clearly does), it doesn't hurt your chances by scaling your product to fit existing fairings better. Being a launch customer (perhaps the *only* customer) for a custom fairing size is not going to be cheap.
New fairings don't just appear out of nowhere. The payload decides how big they'll be. The 2100 could be a starting point for SpaceX, BO or whoever wants to make a huge cargo fairing or whatever delivers the payload. Talk to other potential customers, of course.
The case for the 330 isn't simple. There's no way they'll redesign it for the existing Falcon fairing, and the ULA ride would cost $60 million more. If SpaceX does decide to extend theirs, I'd think Bigelow would want to be in on the conversation. As for the 2100, nothing can launch that yet, so a serious attempt to develop it would definitely be a factor in sizing the payload delivery whatever for the BFR or NG. It's a real COTE problem.