http://www.lvrj.com/business/nasa-contracts-benefit-north-las-vegas-outfit-164988796.htmlCovers Bigelow, SpaceX, SNC
Quote from: Orbital Debris on 08/30/2012 01:01 amQuote from: RocketmanUS on 08/28/2012 01:51 amDo they have inflatable material that will hold water in space that will still be drinkable?They have done some prototypes on bags for containing water around the periphery of the interior of the spacecraft. I don't think they settled on a satisfactory design. It is difficult to model shielding thickness of water if you just velcro a bunch of CWC's to the interior of the hull.As pointed out, there are quite a few existing designs, but attachment and geometry may not be suitable. The challenge for long term storage is using a biocide to prevent microbial growth. Storage on the outside is not practical if you want to be able to access the water. As for microbial growth, make use of the natural elements that you have. 1) keep it as ice (though you will need a slight amount of iodine in there since some bacteria does grow on ice). 2) even better is slowly pump water to the outer edge to take advantage of the radiation.
Quote from: RocketmanUS on 08/28/2012 01:51 amDo they have inflatable material that will hold water in space that will still be drinkable?They have done some prototypes on bags for containing water around the periphery of the interior of the spacecraft. I don't think they settled on a satisfactory design. It is difficult to model shielding thickness of water if you just velcro a bunch of CWC's to the interior of the hull.As pointed out, there are quite a few existing designs, but attachment and geometry may not be suitable. The challenge for long term storage is using a biocide to prevent microbial growth. Storage on the outside is not practical if you want to be able to access the water.
Do they have inflatable material that will hold water in space that will still be drinkable?
Attached video shows water testing at the Bigelow test tank. Following this test, the personnel at Bigelow got impatient waiting on the rented crane, so they used their own and broke their crane because they forgot to take into account the dynamic loading.
Hint: don't hold your breath.I'm rather skeptical Bigelow will ever launch a human-habitable module, unless in the next couple years actual customers materialize who are willing to write a few hundred million dollars worth of checks.
Well Bigelow does have two completed propulsion systems for the Sundancers that are no more so they can be adjusted to the BA 330's. So basically Bigelow has two BA 330s that are almost space ready anyway.
Quote from: Nate_Trost on 10/30/2012 08:25 pmHint: don't hold your breath.I'm rather skeptical Bigelow will ever launch a human-habitable module, unless in the next couple years actual customers materialize who are willing to write a few hundred million dollars worth of checks.The most realistic option is Bigelow will fly a small demo-module to ISS, maybe even small enough to fit in the trunk of Dragon (!). It'd be used to give the astronauts extra room, possible for disposal as well. Not super exciting, but still cool, IMHO.
RTB has videos on the web about aliens helping to discover new elements, and I would put just as much credence in them as anything he says about being ready to go anytime soon.
Quote from: Robotbeat on 10/30/2012 08:58 pmQuote from: Nate_Trost on 10/30/2012 08:25 pmHint: don't hold your breath.I'm rather skeptical Bigelow will ever launch a human-habitable module, unless in the next couple years actual customers materialize who are willing to write a few hundred million dollars worth of checks.The most realistic option is Bigelow will fly a small demo-module to ISS, maybe even small enough to fit in the trunk of Dragon (!). It'd be used to give the astronauts extra room, possible for disposal as well. Not super exciting, but still cool, IMHO.This is much more likely to happen in the near future. Contract is still under negotiation.
Technical question: Can an inflatable habitat like a BA330 be deflated to the point of relaxation of the outer surfaces, left for some time in hard radiation as if mothballed, and then re-inflated to full pressure?
Quote from: happyflower on 10/30/2012 10:33 pmWell Bigelow does have two completed propulsion systems for the Sundancers that are no more so they can be adjusted to the BA 330's. So basically Bigelow has two BA 330s that are almost space ready anyway. The aft propulsions systems were the only ones delivered, and those were hard piped to fit the Sundancer aft end which was much smaller than the comparable part on a BA330. It was undersized for SunnyD, so to use it for BA330 would be like using a lawnmower to drive a bus. RTB has videos on the web about aliens helping to discover new elements, and I would put just as much credence in them as anything he says about being ready to go anytime soon.
