President Barack Obama wants an inflatable module up in the ISS by 2015 and NASA expects this could be as soon as 2013 if funding is secured, writes Ellie Zolfagharifard of the Engineer (UK) noting that both ESA and NASA are reviewing the inflatable space habitat technology.
"Going commercial can definitely help with the funding issue," says Gary Spexarth, a NASA design manager. "But one thing that within NASA we’re trying to understand is: at what point does that make sense? The world has been launching rockets now for 50 years and we’re only just getting comfortable with turning that over to a commercial entity. With inflatables, it’s a completely new technology. The question we’re struggling with is: should NASA develop one first or should we turn the development over to private enterprise?"
Meanwhile, Bigelow Aerospace has strong experience with orbital inflatable modules first acquiring the licences to NASA’s Transhab program in 2004 and thereafter successfully launching the orbiting Genesis I and II inflatable test craft.
Bigelow hopes to launch an 180m3 spacecraft called the Sundancer while looking at the possibilities of creating an inflatable Moon base. The company also recently announced that it is working with Boeing on the development of a commercial space-station system along with the possibility of utilization of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Va.
No comments:
Post a Comment