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#100
by
whitelancer64
on 12 Aug, 2019 16:33
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Not sure whether this is a sign that inflatable modules perform better than expected or inflatable modules' progress stagnating...
Its performance has been validated to be good enough to be part of a human-occupied habitat in space for 10+ years, I'd say that's a very good sign.
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#101
by
Zed_Noir
on 12 Aug, 2019 17:30
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Not sure whether this is a sign that inflatable modules perform better than expected or inflatable modules' progress stagnating...
Think that NASA need the extra storage space afforded by the BEAM module.
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#102
by
high road
on 12 Aug, 2019 20:33
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Yes, but won't BEAM now occupy one of the two points the bigger module can dock/ berth to for the rest of ISS' operational life? Seems to me that doesn't really inspire progress...
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#103
by
brickmack
on 12 Aug, 2019 21:27
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No, the aft port on node 3 is pretty useless. BEAM is about the biggest thing that can attach there without hitting Zaryas solar arrays or the truss. NanRacks proposed an unpressurized module there once (like Bartolomeo, but with a CBM), but it was canceled in favor of Bishop and Outpost
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#104
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 12 Sep, 2019 17:28
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#105
by
whitelancer64
on 12 Sep, 2019 17:45
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https://twitter.com/lorengrush/status/1172185780841639936
An interesting morning so far in Vegas
Hopefully Loren will have something to report soon. Something must be afoot for Bigelow to be hosting her?
Side note: THAT'S A FLIPPIN CLONETROOPER in front of the B2100 mockup. Cool. That's all.
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#106
by
ncb1397
on 12 Sep, 2019 17:58
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Side note: THAT'S A FLIPPIN CLONETROOPER in front of the B2100 mockup. Cool. That's all.
Isn't he a little short to be a stormtrooper?
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#107
by
Kansan52
on 12 Sep, 2019 18:02
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Looking at the docking port in comparison seems like 6' stormtrooper.
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#108
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 12 Sep, 2019 18:30
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https://twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1172215310482460672At Bigelow Aerospace today for updates on NextSTEP Phase 2 and B330. For comparison, here’s a mockup of BEAM (currently on the ISS) and B330 (potential Lunar Gateway hab module). If BEAM is like a two person tent, B330 is like a 4 or 5 bedroom home! @BigelowSpace @NASASpaceflight
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#109
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 12 Sep, 2019 18:34
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Some great B330 pics:
https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1172215821550198785 This is a steel testing version of @BigelowSpace's B330, an inflatable space habitat that the company is developing with @NASA.
B330 is designed to get to space with a single rocket launch and accommodate 4 people "indefinitely" on a long duration mission, such as to Mars.
twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1172215848444055557
Bigelow says that B330 has two galleys (i.e., kitchens), two kitchens, crew quarters and lockers, dedicated areas for research, a 3D printer, and "enormous cargo space."
https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1172215860859154432 Here's B330 with people in front of it, so you get a sense of the scale from the outside.
Bigelow says it can build the first operational B330 space station in 42 months (essentially by 2023).
Edit to add:
https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1172219510826422279Like BEAM, the company envisions deploying B330 by attaching it to the International Space Station.
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#110
by
whitelancer64
on 12 Sep, 2019 19:04
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Nice to finally see the B330 mockup Bigelow made for NASA! Interesting details - like the beams that say "do not exist" :p and lab and stowage areas.
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#111
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 12 Sep, 2019 20:25
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twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1172226681957863424
This is what it looks like as you enter a B330. Note items labeled “DOES NOT EXIST” which are only needed for mobility due to gravity. On the real thing they, well, don’t exist. Shot with @Spectacles.
https://twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1172227424865509376This is what one of four crew quarters looks like. There would be an enclosure for privacy that is currently denoted by the black outline. The racks on the right represent personal locker space.
twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1172229076771229696
Large curved screens in place of windows on the lower deck connected to cameras the crew can control. Another bunk way off at the other end. The amount of space in B330 is staggering, and I knew it was going to be big.
https://twitter.com/thejackbeyer/status/1172230206330818562B330 is so big in fact, that I couldn’t get a great interior picture even with an 11mm lens. Here’s some shots of the mid deck. There’s two gallies, a 3D printer, a glove box and loads more.
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#112
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 13 Sep, 2019 12:52
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https://twitter.com/jimbridenstine/status/1172490700996448256Our astronauts are inside @BigelowSpace's B330 Mars Transporter Testing prototype this week. It’s the last of 5 tests this year to assess performance, layout & ergonomics of these very unique American designed deep space habitats. Learn more here: go.nasa.gov/2UeEPOZ
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#113
by
Chris Bergin
on 13 Sep, 2019 15:58
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#114
by
AS_501
on 13 Sep, 2019 16:07
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Fine article Chris, well written. By the way, Bigelow space stations will be quite expensive. Why?
Inflation
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#115
by
FutureSpaceTourist
on 13 Sep, 2019 19:05
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#116
by
GWH
on 13 Sep, 2019 21:29
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Isn't this the kind of stuff you investigate *before* you announce that you have booked up to four launches?
theverge.com/2019/9/13/2086…
Yeah no kidding, it's pure incompetence on their part. What exactly have they and the Bigelow Space Operations been doing this whole time.
That and failing to incorporate windows. Number 1 rule is always to know your customers. Who is going to want to pay to go to space and not look out a real window? Obviously noone given their comments on the difficulty of selling $50million seats.
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#117
by
whitelancer64
on 13 Sep, 2019 21:58
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Isn't this the kind of stuff you investigate *before* you announce that you have booked up to four launches?
theverge.com/2019/9/13/2086…
Yeah no kidding, it's pure incompetence on their part. What exactly have they and the Bigelow Space Operations been doing this whole time.
That and failing to incorporate windows. Number 1 rule is always to know your customers. Who is going to want to pay to go to space and not look out a real window? Obviously noone given their comments on the difficulty of selling $50million seats.
Windows are heavy, and also vulnerable to debris. Previous B330 renders had small windows within a pyramid-shaped chunk taken out of the side of the module, obviously that would be a structural issue as well.
I would guess it would be easier for Bigelow to have a separate module with a window on it.
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#118
by
DreamyPickle
on 13 Sep, 2019 22:57
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I really want Bigelow to succeed but it seems to me that this is just a NASA-funded ground-based demo and there are no clear plans to launch anything into space. Or did I miss something?
Bigelow has launched stuff before: Genesis and BEAM. But nothing resembling a launch date for B330 yet.
Do we even know what launchers it fits? Last I remember it slightly too large for Falcon9 which was a really silly limitation to build into your design.
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#119
by
GWH
on 14 Sep, 2019 04:11
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Windows are heavy, and also vulnerable to debris. Previous B330 renders had small windows within a pyramid-shaped chunk taken out of the side of the module, obviously that would be a structural issue as well.
I would guess it would be easier for Bigelow to have a separate module with a window on it.
And? The ISS copolla is where international astronauts spend a lot of their freetime. A rational company (
https://axiomspace.com/axiom-station/)
would see the value in that despite any engineering challenges. Bigelow doesn't behave rationally.
I had thought this previous announcement to fly crew to the ISS as is meant Bigelow would work to provide a service first and grow as a business, but clearly they can't be bothered with market research and seem content to just keep churning out mock ups and prototypes.
