Reality check: there are currently companies like BioServe and Nanoracks that sell space in facilities aboard ISS. Why would anyone pay hundreds of millions of dollars many years from now for services on a Bigelow station when they can pay a fraction of that for services in orbit now?It all sounds like the plan is to wait a few years, and then a miracle happens.
Propulsion:Sundancer utilizes two propulsion systems on the fore and aft of the spacecraft. The aft propulsion system can be refueled and reused.
Propulsion:BA 330 utilizes two propulsion systems on the fore and aft of the spacecraft. The aft propulsion system can be refueled and reused.
Propulsion ProgramsBigelow Aerospace Sundancer Forward Propulsion System (FPS)Status: CompletedDynetics designed, qualified, produced, and delivered the forward propulsion system (FPS) for Sundancer, the world's first commercial space habitat. Our innovative, "green" FPS operates on hydrogen and oxygen generated from water, sweat, and wastewater from Bigelow's proprietary Environmental Control Life Support System (ECLSS). This eliminates toxic propellants such as hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide that are costly to use and harmful to the environment and creates a safer, cleaner work environment for humans on Earth and in space.The FPS successfully completed a rigorous qualification test program, including thermal cycling, EMI, static loads, vibration and acoustic, and accelerated life testing consisting of 10,000 pulses.The FPS can be adapted for other uses, including roll control for small launch vehicles, reaction control on larger upper stages, and attitude control on space craft.For more information about the Sundancer project, visit Bigelow Aerospace's website.
That is was I had been expecting, but it's the aft hydrazine monopropellant system that is going to be refuelable.
Sundancer utilizes two propulsion systems on the fore and aft of the spacecraft. The aft propulsion system can be refueled and reused.
The Aerojet system for Sundancer is of a monopropellant hydrazine design and consists of hardware that has been well-proven on numerous missions. A similar system was used on May 25 to help NASA's Phoenix probe become the first spacecraft in more than 30 years to successfully land on Mars using rockets alone.
aft propulsion: can be refueled, used for large-scale maneuvers like getting into the proper orbit, and possibly even things like boosting a module to GEO/Lagrangian/Lunar orbit after refueling
A new promotional video for the CST-100 also shows a nice flyaround of the planned Bigelow station:
Looking at that Boeing CTS-100 'new' video showing docking with Bigelow station.What effect, if any, are the downward firing thrusters from CTS-100 going have on the Bigelow station materials ?
Quote from: Apollo-phill on 07/20/2010 10:41 amLooking at that Boeing CTS-100 'new' video showing docking with Bigelow station.What effect, if any, are the downward firing thrusters from CTS-100 going have on the Bigelow station materials ? They could just be cold gas thrusters. With something more powerful for OMS type burns away from the station.
Speaking of cold gas thrusters... is helium an especially good gas for a "cold" gas thruster since it has a negative Joule-Thomson Coefficient at room temperature (and all the way down to about 53K)? (i.e. it heats up when it expands, rather than cools which most other gases do, including nitrogen.)
Quote from: Robotbeat on 07/20/2010 04:35 pmSpeaking of cold gas thrusters... is helium an especially good gas for a "cold" gas thruster since it has a negative Joule-Thomson Coefficient at room temperature (and all the way down to about 53K)? (i.e. it heats up when it expands, rather than cools which most other gases do, including nitrogen.)No. Helium has a limited availability on earth with supplies diminishing. It is too valuable to use for thrusters, especially with so many other thrust gasses available with no supply downsides.
